A Story
by BreakingWater21
Summary: This is a story mainly centered around my own character but contains all of the Naruto characters except Sakura...shiver... Read the Prelude for the background. Everyone's older than in the series.
1. Part I: A New Place

Prelude 

A long time ago, there existed the most beautiful angel imaginable. This angel was loved and admired by all those who had the chance to see her and she was a legend for those unworthy of her presence. Humans on earth had only heard stories of the great ninjas who possessed the power almost equivalent to the supernatural and were be able to withhold her beauty and glory. On a fateful day in the winter time, this angel of beauty and grace fell from heaven for an unworthy soul from the Uchiha clan was able to withhold her impassable beauty and fell in love with her. Through this unworthy meeting, she fell from her place in heaven and became the demon of hate cursing the Uchiha clan to a terrible fate of one day ceasing to exist. But she was not satisfied yet. She declared a war on all humankind. She began to destroy the great nations of the human world and all the powers of the ninjas combined could not stop her. Millions died and the great forests of the world burned with the fires of hell. This time was known as the darkest era for mankind.

After 100 years of chaos and destruction, the great leader of the spirits of nature, the nine-tailed fox spirit, allied himself with the greatest of the Kages from the different countries to have one last stand against the beautiful but terrible angel of death. With their combined powers, the fox spirit was able to lock the demon away for what seemed like an eternity. The world could once again be at peace. The fox spirit was highly feared and respected by all the people in the world. Then there came the time when all the great Kages of that generation died. Slowly, over the period of a thousand years, the people of the world forgot about the fox spirit's sacrifice to lock the demon of beauty away and they began to misuse nature and destroy the great forests and pollute the oceans. The fox spirit became enraged at the humans and vowed to destroy them for their ungratefulness. The spirit was so engulfed in his rage that he became a demon himself. The people of the world were once again in an era of death and darkness. The world was at war again but this time with the fox demon. But then the Fourth Hokage, who used his forbidden technique, sacrificed his life to protect the world and was able to seal the nine-tailed fox demon inside a newborn boy whose mother had died at the birth. This child was deemed to carry the spirit of the demon for the rest of his life.

His name was Naruto. Unknowing that he held the spirit and power of the fox demon inside of him, he grew up in the country of Fire in the hidden village of the Leaf in disgrace and rejection, but he had the will to survive and to become a ninja. As fate had it, he was put in the same school with Sasuke Uchiha, the only survivor of the supposed total annihilation of the clan of tragedy, and a girl by the name of Sora.

Part I: A New Place 

_So this is the new school, huh?_ thought Sora as she paused on the marble steps in front of the quaint ninja school of the hidden village of Konoha. A light snow was falling. She shifted her bag on her shoulder. _Well, it can't be that bad… _She sighed and went up the rest of the steps. She was early as always to school and no students were in sight since they were all probably still asleep in their homes. She went into the building and found the office. "Hello?" she said cautiously as she entered the office.

"Why, hello there! My, you're early!" said a nice looking woman who was sitting at the desk. Indeed it was 6:28. "You must be Sora."

"Yes, ma'am," Sora said with a bow.

"My name is Kikyota. I'm the secretary here and it looks like you've got your things with you."

"Yes."

"Good, then I'll take you to your room since you're staying on campus. Is this your first time here? I don't quite remember if you visited or not."

"Um, yes this is my first time here. I never got a chance to look around so I thought if I came early I could get to know the place a little better."

"Of course, you can!" Kikyota said with a warm smile. "In fact, at around 7 there will be a student here to show you the dorms, school, and grounds. Classes begin at 8."

"Oh, thank you." Sora was already dressed for school. Her outfit consisted of an informal red ninja dress with no sleeves and light but sturdy sandals on her feet. No jacket or cloak was to be seen.

"Are you going to be cold? We have to go outside you know," Kikyota asked seeing what she was wearing.

"Oh, no. I'll be fine. I actually like the cold weather."

"I see…are you sure?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Well, then, let me go get my cloak and we'll be off."

Sora nodded as Kikyota left. She looked around the office. The walls were made of a strong bamboo and the doors were of the sliding paper kind. All the decorations were simple and symbolic of the great heroes of the Leaf village. Sora brushed some red hair out of her eyes as she inspected some of the artifacts.

"Ok, sorry about the wait," Kikyota said as she finished tying her cloak on. "It's about a 3 minute walk to the dorms."

"Ok."

They left the main school building and crossed the campus. The snow was falling a little harder but since it nearing the end of winter, the brown grass and bare bushes and tree branches could be seen. The small brook that ran through the grounds was not frozen anymore and ran its course making soft, pleasant sounds. After asking a few questions about the school and the village in general, Sora saw the dorm building.

"Here we are!" Kikyota said entering the dorm. "You don't have a room mate so you get your room all to yourself."

Sora smiled. The door was unlocked and inside was a small, quaint room with two rolled up mattresses, a small table, two chairs, and one window looking over to the student garden. A small stone court yard could be seen.

"Behind the dorms there is a student garden where students can go to do their homework, or train themselves," Kikyota said informatively. "There are only about 41 students in your year, 42 including you so you'll have plenty of room for yourself around the village. Most of the kids don't live here."

"Oh, that's nice that the school's small," Sora said.

"It is," Kikyota said. "What country are you from?"

Sora started. "Um…" She wasn't really expecting a question like that. "I came from the Country of Lightening last…"

Kikyota sensed the tension in Sora. "Oh, that's nice. Well, when you're done getting all your stuff out, meet back at the office at 7 so you can have your tour."

"Ok, thank you." Sora became comfortable again.

"Sure." She left the room and closed the door leaving Sora alone.

Sora sighed and started to unpack her belongings which didn't take long since she only had one bag. At 7:00 sharp, she arrived at the office and there was a girl with purplish hair waiting for her.

"Hi," the purple haired girl said with a soft smile.

"Hello," Sora said smiling back.

"You must be Sora. I'm Hyuuga Hinata," she said and extended her hand to shake hers.

"Nice to meet you," Sora returned and shook her hand.

"We're going to go around the school building first if that's ok with you."

"Um, sure. That's fine." They began to walk while Hinata informed Sora on all the quirks and pathways around the school. Soon they were in a friendly chatter, laughing and talking about school gossip, the mean senseis, and other stuff.

It was almost 8 when they finally returned to the school building after going to the student garden. "So where are you from?" Hinata asked.

Pause. "Uh, I came from the Country of Lightening last…"

"Oh, really?" Hinata exclaimed. "I heard that their ninja school has really hard senseis but they come out with really tough students! You must be a high level ninja already!"

"Oh, no," Sora blushed.

"That's really cool!" A bell rang shrilly. "Oh, that's the signal to get to class! We better hurry!"

"Uh, don't we need our books…?"

"Not today," Hinata said grabbing Sora's right hand. "Since it's the first day that we're all officially Genins, we're going to be separated into teams of three and meet our new senseis."

"Oh." Hinata ran down the hall pulling Sora behind.

"Believe it!" Naruto basically screamed at the seemingly deaf Sasuke. Most of the students were in the classroom waiting for their old sensei from the ninja school. Once again, Naruto was making his empty threats of kicking Sasuke's butt in the Genin training course. "I'm gonna be the greatest ninja of all time and then you'll see!"

Sasuke was sitting in his usual seat near the window of the classroom with his elbows on the desk and his hands folded in front of his mouth with his eyes closed. He was not paying any attention to anyone, much less Naruto.

"Did you hear me?" Naruto yelled. The other students had learned to just ignore Naruto so nobody really paid attention to him but the girls definitely paid attention to Sasuke.

Ino, the most popular girl in the class entered the room. Upon seeing Naruto up in Sasuke's face, she ran up to Sasuke pushing Naruto aside. "Sasuke-kun!" she said shrilly.

Sasuke made no reaction to her attention.

She ignored his unresponsive attitude and continued. "Sasuke-kun, do you want to go out with me today after school lets out?"

Sasuke made no reply.

Naruto got up angrier than ever. He didn't like any of the girls in the class but he was always sick of Sasuke getting all the attention.

"No way!" another girl screamed at Ino. She didn't care if Ino was the most popular girl. "You can't have Sasuke-kun, Ino!"

"Yeah!" another girl said. The three glared at each other.

"You don't stand a chance," Ino mocked them. "My beauty far surpasses either of yours and everyone knows that Sasuke-kun and I were made for each other!"

"Whatever!" It seemed like a catfight was going to start.

Sasuke kept his silence in annoyance. _Why can't they leave me alone for just one day? _He had other things to think about other than girls.

Then all the students heard footsteps in the hall and got to their seats thinking it was the sensei. The door slid open and there stood Hinata and Sora laughing. Sasuke's eyes opened a little bit.

"Hello, everyone!" Hinata greeted the class who was a little shocked at seeing Sora. "This is our new student from the Country of Lightening, Sora!"

Sora turned a little red at the mention of the Lightening country. "Um, hi…" she waved. Some of the girls immediately began to get up and greet Sora while the boys were shocked at Sora…because of her beauty.

_She's…so beautiful…_ Kiba thought along with many of the other guys in the room. He was wearing a coat with his hood up and on his face were two red marks of kabuki paint in the shapes of elongated triangles pointed down, one on each cheek. His dog Akamaru, that he always kept with him could sense his master's emotion and barked happily.

Even Shikamaru, the laziest butt in the world glanced in her direction and immediately sat up straight. _Whoa! She's hot! _His eyes widened as he scanned her body. All the guys were spell bound.

_Lightening, huh…_Sasuke thought. He looked Sora over. _Hmm… _Sora didn't really like the attention from all the guys and was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable. Sasuke sensed her uneasiness. _I wonder where she's really from._

Naruto was motionless. _Wow, she's so…sexy! _His eyes were big and for once he wasn't talking.

_Maybe this school is a little too friendly, _Sora thought to herself as she sweat-dropped.

Hinata was trying to introduce everyone to Sora as she led her into the classroom. "That's Shino, and Chouji, and oh, that's Sasuke!" She brought her voice lower. "He's the most popular guy here and like all the girls have a crush on him!" She giggled.

"Heh, heh," Sora forced. _Sasuke, huh? He looks like the strong silent type…I wonder…_

"And that's Naruto," Hinata continued. "He's the most annoying little twit ever! But he's cute."

Sora looked at Hinata in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah, he likes to pull pranks and gets on everyone's nerves," Hinata said shyly. "But I know he's just doing it for attention."

"Oh," Sora said thoughtfully. _Hm…_ she thought. _I feel something interesting coming from him._ "Why?"

"Uh, I'm not quite sure, but he lost his parents when he was born," Hinata said looking down. "I feel sorry for him."

Sora nodded and glanced at Naruto again who was still staring at her.

Finally the sensei stepped in and the students got quiet. "Ok, class, we're…why hello there!" He spotted Sora amongst the other students. "You must be Sora!"

"Yes," Sora said for the umpteenth time that day.

"Well, welcome to the Konoha Ninja School of the Hidden Village of the Leaf. I am Iruka-sensei," he said with a small bow.

"Thank you, Sensei."

"Since you're here and already a Genin, I'm going to have to test your powers in order to put you on the right team. So we're going to head outside. The rest of you can relax a bit. This will only take a second."

"Hey, can we come too?" Naruto asked.

Some of the girls immediately jumped at him. "Are you crazy, it's freezing outside!" "You can go in the snow if you want…idiot." "I'd rather keep warm."

"Now don't complain about the weather," Iruka said sharply. "A ninja must be able to be in top performance no matter what the weather is. Sora, do you mind if some come and watch?"

Sora looked at the group and thought that not many would want to come so she said, "I don't mind."

A small group of the students trudged out into the cold towards a huge stone courtyard with a sand pit in the middle of it that was covered in snow. The students who came were Naruto, Kiba, Shikamaru, and many of the other guys, Hinata, Ino and the two other girls Ino was fighting with before, but they only came because amazingly Sasuke came as well. Sora had hoped that not that many people would come out and was especially uneasy with Sasuke and Naruto being there. _There's something about them…they feel familiar… _They were waiting for the sensei to come out. The four girls were huddling together for warmth. The boys were trying to look tough in front of Sora and stood as if nothing was going on even though it was freezing cold. One of the girls called to Sora. "Hey Sora, aren't you cold?"

"Actually, I'm ok," she said with a smile. "One of my strong points is ice."

"Oh, I see."

"But," Sora walked towards the group of girls. "Here, give me your hand." The girl gave Sora her hand and immediately she felt a surge of warmth from Sora and it spread to the other girls as well.

"Wow! How'd you do that, Sora?" Hinata asked.

"In my old school, my sensei wanted me to not only expand on my strong points but on my weak points as well and so I had to go through much training in warm climates," Sora explained.

"What did he make you do?"

"Well, my Chakra level is drastically decreased in hot or dry environments so my sensei put me in the middle of a desert with no food, water, or weapons to fight his sand creatures for 20 days."

"WHAT?" all three of the girls gasped.

Sora nodded her head with remembrance.

"That's like almost impossible for even someone who isn't weak in that kind of weather!" Hinata said.

"I had to do a lot training of course before I did that," Sora said. "I-"

"Ok, Sora, I want to see where you stand so this test will be of a Genin level," Iruka said finally approaching them.

"Um…" Sora was half expecting something like this.

"Ok, all you have to do is stand in the sand pit and defeat whatever sand creatures I may throw at you. You can't use any weapons but you can use your surroundings to help and one more thing," Iruka reached into his pouch and pulled out a blindfold. "You can't see."

"All right," Sora said a little hesitantly. Sora walked to the sand pit and Iruka put the blindfold on Sora.

"Ok, you're ready," Iruka said.

_20 days in the desert for an ice ninja,_ Sasuke thought. _Perhaps a worthy opponent?_

The students fell silent. Iruka was waiting for the right moment that would catch Sora off guard. Sora stood perfectly still with her hands in a strange seal. No one knew what it was, not even Iruka. Then all at once 20 sand creatures rose from the sand with lightening speed and they rushed at Sora. Sora's hands moved even faster and just as the sand creatures covered her from sight, they fell revealing Sora in a fighting stance with her right hand open. The sand creatures dissipated back into sand. It was completely silent. Left on top of the sand were 20 small crystal daggers. Sora removed her blindfold. Her eyes could still be seen changing from a silver color back to her usual red color. She brushed some hair out of her eyes.

Naruto was the first to speak. "Hey, I thought Sensei said no weapons."

"Yes, but he did say I could use my surroundings," Sora said picking up one of the daggers.

"Amazing," Iruka said. "What are those things?"

"They're ice shards. I made them by using the frost within the sand pit."

"How'dya make so many and throw so accurately all so fast?" Naruto said coming forward to pick a dagger up.

Sora blushed. "I trained a lot, I guess…I did say my specialty is ice."

"Oh, right," Naruto said with admiration which was not common in him since he usually spat at everyone that got near him.

_Holy crap!_ Kiba thought. _Not only is she beautiful but she's strong. What a girl…_ Everyone started to talk at once.

Sasuke was the only one not talking but his mouth was open in shock. _She is not from the Lightening country that's for sure…I must see her full potential someday and maybe…_ Sasuke shook his head. _Hmm…mustn't think too far ahead._ He gave a small smirk.

"I am very impressed with your abilities Sora. Your previous sensei has definitely trained you well," Iruka said.

Sora blushed at all the compliments.

Sasuke looked at Sora unaware of how intense he looked. _Perfect, _he thought.

All the girls noticed Sasuke looking at Sora and they immediately felt jealous. Sora also felt Sasuke's gaze upon her but she refused to acknowledge it.

The guys all began to look at what all the girls were looking at and noticed Sasuke looking at Sora. _Damn, the day she comes and now I don't even have a chance if Sasuke's going to… _Kiba thought. From the look on Shikamaru's face he was thinking the same.

"All right," Iruka said after writing some things down. "Now everyone go back inside." The students began walking back in. "Sora, come here for a sec," he called. Sora walked back towards him.

"Yes?"

"What do you think of Sasuke and Naruto as your teammates? You three would make a good, balanced team."

"Sasuke and Naruto?" she said in surprise. _That's strange, the two guys I have a funny feeling about…and now I might be put on their team? _

"Sora, you should get to know Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto," Iruka said smiling. "But I have to warn you though," Iruka continued. "They've been rivals since they met."

Sora sweat-dropped. _Great, now I might have rivals on my team?_

Once back inside, the students who went out started to tell the other students about Sora's amazing test.

Kiba saw his chance to talk to Sora then. "Sora?" he said as he approached her.

"Hello?" She looked at him. Her eyes made him melt.

"Uh, I just wanted to introduce myself," he said nervously and held out his hand.

Sora smiled and took it.

"Kiba's my name, and this is Akamaru," he said pointing to his dog who was on the desk next to them.

"Aww, how cute," Sora said. She started petting him. Akamaru growled happily and licked her hand. Sora laughed.

"He can sense that you're strong," Kiba said. "That's his specialty."

"Really?" Sora said. _Come to think of it, with his eyes and teeth, Kiba looks kind of like an animal…hmm…_ Sora always liked to predict the types of attacks one would use in a battle by his looks. "Do you use animal techniques in battle?"

"Heh, yeah, I do. In fact it's my specialty," Kiba said. "How'd you know?"

Sora smiled as Akamaru jumped into her arms. "I don't know when it started but I've always liked to predict one's attack type by looking at him before I see him in battle. Isn't that weird?" Akamaru yipped.

"No, that's really cool that you can do that," Kiba said.

_I like this guy, he seems decent, _Sora thought. _And his dog's adorable._

Shikamaru walked up to them as well. "Hey," he said.

Sora smiled at him. _Hmmm…_

"My name's Shikamaru," he said. "I've just got to say that your performance was pretty impressive." He put a hand behind his head.

"Thank you," Sora said. She was having a hard time with this guy. _What attacks…by the looks of his expression, he doesn't seem to care too much about anything, but he also looks like a very smart person…_ "So what's Konoha like?" she asked. _Maybe if I can get him to talk more I'll find out._

"Eh, kinda boring," Shikamaru said.

"Well, it is but after becoming Genins, it'll be a lot more interesting," Kiba said. "I mean we'll be able to train and actually learn how to fight with our abilities."

"Hey, Shikamaru, speaking of abilities," Sora said. "Do you use Shadow techniques as your ability?"

"Huh?" Shikamaru was shocked. _How can she tell? _

"Whoa, Sora, you're right again! How do you do it?" Kiba said it out loud for Shikamaru.

Sora blushed. "I don't know. I just had a feeling."

Then Iruka came back in. "Ok, class I've got the official list for your Genin squads." A hush fell over the class. "Team 1 is Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji."

_What? I get stuck with the bossy girl? _Shikamaru thought. _How troublesome…Chouji and I are going to have sooo much fun…_

Ino was completely shocked and disgusted with the fact that she wasn't with her beloved Sasuke. _I'll kill the girl who gets on his team,_ she thought evilly.

"You're gonna meet in room 207 tomorrow. Next, Team 2, is Kiba, Hinata, and Shino, room 311."

_Dammit, _Kiba thought. _Like I said before, I don't have a chance…_ Akamaru whimpered at his master's expression.

_Aww…I wanted to be with Naruto-kun, but at least Ino's with the fat guy,_ Hinata thought.

Iruka kept going until finally. "Okay, now squad number seven is Naruto, Sora, and Sasuke. I got it confirmed by Hokage-sama himself. You're to meet in room 214 tomorrow."

"All right!" Naruto said. He jumped up and threw a fist in the air. _How lucky can I get? I'm gonna be with the most beautiful girl in the world and we're going to be on the same team to train as Genins! _

Sasuke scowled. _How is it that I always get stuck with Naruto? I wanted Sora for myself._

Sora looked at the two. Naruto was overjoyed but as soon as he looked at Sasuke he gave him the death glare even though Sasuke's eyes were shut. Sasuke just seemed angry. _Can I survive this?_ Sora asked herself sarcastically.

Iruka kept going until all of the students were placed on teams. Once he was finished, he placed his clipboard on the desk. "Now you are all to report to your respective classrooms tomorrow at 7 am sharp, okay?" Iruka said after the kids had calmed down. "Class dismissed."

"Hey, I hope to see you guys around sometime," Sora said to Kiba and Shikamaru. She put Akamaru on the table. He whined. "You too!" she said as she gave him a good scratch behind the ears.

Kiba smiled and said, "Yeah, maybe we could go-oof!" Shikamaru had elbowed him in the stomach before Kiba could finish. He jerked his thumb over to Naruto who was running up to them.

"We'll see you around, Sora," Shikamaru said as he pulled Kiba after him out of the room.

"Hopefully," Sora said. _They're nice…_

"Sora!" Naruto shouted. "You're on my team!"

Sora smiled hesitantly. "Yeah."

"This is going to be great!" Naruto said as he basically danced out of the room. "See ya tomorrow!"

Sora waved and sweat-dropped. "Is he always like that?"

"More than you know," Sasuke said quietly.

She didn't know she had said that out loud and turned around shocked at his voice. "Uchiha Sasuke?" Sora asked. He nodded and left. Sora felt a strange feeling wash over her as he passed. She twitched a little and shook her head slightly.

"Sora!" Ino said.

"Um, yes?" Sora said smiling. "Ino, right?" She was pretty good with names.

"Don't think that you can just waltz in here and take Sasuke-kun from me!" she said hotly.

"What?"

"You heard me!" Ino continued. "I saw that look you gave him! Just cuz your on his team doesn't mean he's yours!"

"I never even thought-"

"He's mine, got it? If you so much as TRY anything on him, I swear I'll get you!" she said with a huff and left.

_Geez, what an attitude! _Sora thought to herself.

"Sora-chan!" Hinata said.

"Hinata-chan," Sora said with a happy sigh. _Finally a familiar face!_

"I forgot to warn you about Ino," she said. "She's completely obsessed with Sasuke-kun as are most of the girls here anyway."

"Are you?" Sora asked jokingly.

Hinata laughed. "I can't say that he's not cute!" She smiled. "Don't worry, I hope you guys will work well together on your team."

"Thank you. You too!" Sora said.

"Yeah, I'm pretty good friends with Kiba and Shino, even though he like never talks, but I'm happy," Hinata said. "I'll walk you back to your dorm, ok?"

"Thanks, that'd be cool," Sora said.

"I have to tell you all about Sasuke and Naruto's rivalry though cuz you might need to prepare yourself," Hinata said with a laugh.

"Yeah," Sora said uncertainly. _Great, so their rivalry is infamous...even better…_

Once Sora was back in her room alone, she began to think. _This is so strange…where is he from? How do I know him?_ Sora sat down in the middle of her room in a meditative position. _How is this possible, I don't even know him but yet I feel a pull of remembrance…painful remembrance…Uchiha…where have I heard of that name before? Come to think of it, Naruto had a strange eminence about him too…I can feel an aurora of something…different…_ After thinking things over for a while, Sora decided to get to know the village a little better. Without a second thought, she left her room to explore.

She found the village garden area and saw a partially frozen fountain._ This is nice,_ she thought as she sat down to gaze at the frozen structure. Then she felt a presence.

"Sora."

She turned around ready for anything but found it was…Sasuke? "Oh, uh, hello, um was it Sasuke?" Sora bowed politely feeling very uncomfortable.

"Where are you really from, Sora?" Sasuke said quietly but firmly. His dark eyes piercing her crimson ones.

Sora was set back by the question. _Who does this guy think he is?_ "Uh, like I said before, I was-"

"I know you're lying."

Silence. Sasuke stared at Sora without moving. Sora was still shocked and speechless. A chilling wind blew Sora's hair in front of her face. Her expression hardened. "Why do you want to know?"

"Your powers interest me," Sasuke said without showing any emotion. _And that's not all that interests me, _he smiled inside.

Sora was even more taken aback. She swept some strands of her hair out of her face and backed away. He stepped forward. She wanted to run, she was scared. _What is with him?_ He kept coming forward until he was inches away from her face. She was unable to move.

_She is so beautiful…_Sasuke thought. His hand subconsciously moved to touch her face. _Somehow, I feel that I know her from before…_

Sora didn't know what was happening. She felt his hand on her cheek but she didn't slap it away like she wanted to. She shut her eyes. _Run away...run away…_She couldn't move.

Sasuke was unable to control himself. He slipped his free arm around her back and put the other hand that had been stroking her cheek behind her head. He bent his head down and moved closer to her face. _I just met her…but I feel…in love? _

A strong gust of icy wind made the birds scattered from the trees and broke the silence with a shriek. Sasuke tensed in surprise and Sora snapped back to reality. She saw her chance to get out. _I've got to leave now. S_he broke free from Sasuke in an instant and disappeared into the newly falling snow.

Sasuke was left standing in the garden thinking over what had just happened. _How could I let my guard down? _He mentally kicked himself. _She had me spellbound…those damn birds! No, it was too early…I've got to…_ He became mad. _Why am I so mad? _

Sora ran all the way back to her room and locked the door. _What happened? I don't even know him! I've never met him! What a JERK! I can't believe…_Her mind went wild with frustration. "Whoa, whoa calm down," she said out loud to herself. She took in a deep breath. "It's okay, I'm not going to see him aga-" she cut herself off. "Dammit! I'm on his Genin team…ugh…that means we're going to be seeing a lot of each other from now on then…" She dropped to her knees. _Why can I sense something in him? Something recognizable?_

The next day came in an instant so it seemed to Sora. She woke at the first light and went outside after she washed to do a meditative exercise. It was freezing cold but she didn't care even though she was only dressed in her usual ninja dress. She focused her energy and faced the rising sun. Her mind cleared and she drifted into her subconscious thoughts. All of a sudden images as clear as day appeared in her mind. A bright light…then a lake…beautiful in the winter…She felt herself walking alongside it looking into the water. Wait! Who's there? She felt herself turn around. Was it…Sasuke? Flames leaped into her vision. A rage, no a deep hatred ran through her. Blood…FLASH…a blur of lightening...jagged teeth…and then pain. It's too much…gasping for air…_Am I dying?_ Sora fell to her knees and her eyes shot open. She was hugging her self and shaking. Smoke was rising from her body. She was paralyzed with the pain that still remained from her vision. She tried to stand. Pain shot up her body. She gave a cry and fell back to the ground almost unconscious. _What…what the heck? Visions of my future? Did I die?_ A few moments passed and a thin layer of snow covered her. She tried to move again and surprisingly the pain was gone; the smoke was gone; the feeling of dying was gone. _What is going on? _Then she looked at the sun and saw that it was almost 7:00. _Crap I'm going to be late. _She ran at full speed to the academy.

When she got to the assigned classroom, only Sasuke was there. His elbows were propped up on the table in front of where he sat and his hands covered his mouth. His eyes were closed. _Shoot…_Sora thought. _Where's Naruto when you need him?_ She didn't want to make a sound so that Sasuke wouldn't open his eyes but it was already too late. He had sensed her presence.

"You're late," he said without opening his eyes. She froze and didn't respond. "Our sensei is also late." He still had his eyes closed.

_He talks like nothing happened yesterday, _she thought angrily. _He's the one who started it and HE'S the one who doesn't even seem to care! _She decided to ignore the event that happened yesterday as well so she sat in the seat farthest away from him. "I'm not late," she said matter-of-factly. She hadn't even looked at the clock to see what time it was. She just wanted to say something back to him.

His eyes opened slightly to glance at the clock. It was 7:02. "Hm."

Sora looked at the clock. _Baka! _She decided not to say anything. An awkward silence filled the classroom air. _Keep calm…_Sora breathed deeply. _Don't show any emotion…WHERE THE HECK'S NARUTO! _She closed her eyes.

Sasuke glanced over at her. _Has she forgotten? _He sensed her anticipation and discomfort. _No, she hasn't. _He smiled to himself.

Naruto came bursting in. "AHHH! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I overslept and I was hungry so I had to eat my ramen and then I forgot about the 7 o'clock thing and then-"

"It's okay, you beat the sensei here anyway," Sora said getting up and patting Naruto on the arm. She smiled.

Naruto looked at her and blushed. He smiled back and melted. _I think she likes me!_

Sasuke stared at the other two angrily. _What is she trying to pull? How is it that the one girl I'm interested in goes for the village idiot! _

Sora laughed at Naruto's heavy blush. She liked this kid. "Come on Naruto-kun, stand up." She helped him up.

_Did she call me KUN?_ Naruto thought.

_Did she call him KUN? _Sasuke thought.

Then as if on cue, the sensei arrived. "Good morning students, I'm sorry I'm a little late. I got lost on the way here." He had one eye covered with his forehead protector and his lower face covered in a half mask. His white hair stood to one side and he had a lazy appearance about him. The three students stared at him surprised.

_Is he half asleep? _Naruto thought.

_How could he get lost?_ Sora thought. _I mean, I just got here and this place isn't very big…_

Sasuke closed his eyes in a concentrated expression trying to keep himself from tearing Naruto apart.

The sensei looked at the shocked students. _And who is this fine young lady here? Sora was it? Hm…_"Well, let's start by introducing ourselves." The sensei moved over to sit on the desk.

Sora looked a little confused. "What should we say?"

"Well…things you like…things you don't like…any hobbies you might have…plans for the future…things like that," the sensei said lazily.

All three of the Genins looked a little confused. "Why don't you go first Sensei so that we'll know what you mean," Naruto said a little nervously.

"All right then. My name is Hatake Kakashi-sensei. Things I like…things I don't like…well, I don't feel like telling you guys. I've never really thought about my plans for the future…and as for my hobbies, well, I have lots of hobbies." He folded his arms in conclusion looking very satisfied with himself.

Sora looked confusedly at the sensei. She whispered to Naruto, "All he really told us was his name…"

Naruto also had a confused look on his face but then he snapped out of it. "Fine then, I'll go next. My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I like ramen noodles in general, sampling, tasting, and just eating them. What I don't like is the three minutes that you have to wait after you pour the hot water in the cup and I'm going to become the number one ninja in this village. I'll be the next Hokage and I'll show everyone that I can be respected!"

Sora looked at him. _I wonder why people treat him so badly._

Kakashi glanced at Sora. _Hmmm…_ "Why don't you go next?"

"Huh? Me?" Sora said pointing to herself.

Kakashi nodded. "You're new here so I haven't seen you around."

"Well, I, uh," she stammered. _Dammit…I didn't want to talk about myself here…_ She decided if necessary to basically lie about her past. "My name is uh…" _Shoot, I don't want to use my last name…_ "Uh, Kousetsu Sora and…" she said the first thing that came to her mind and that was snow. "…and I like winter!" _At least that was true,_ she thought. "I don't like…" _Hmmm, maybe I can get back at Sasuke._ She smiled evilly. "I don't like pride and conceitedness in people." She shot a glare at Sasuke.

Sasuke's eyes shot open. "Huh?" He glared at Sora.

Sora smiled sweetly back. "And my hobbies are training I guess…um and I think my plans for the future are uncertain right now." She stopped and thought back on what she said.

_Hmm…interesting girl, _Kakashi thought. "Well, what about you Uchiha?"

Sasuke was still glaring at Sora. _What the hell? _He tore his gaze away from her and focused his attention on the sensei. "I'm Sasuke, survivor of the Uchiha clan." He stopped.

"Nothing you like?" Kakashi asked.

Sasuke stared at Kakashi without moving.

"No hobbies?"

Sasuke continued to stare.

"I'm guessing no plans for the future either, huh?"

The staring continued.

"Well, since we all know a little more about each other…"

_Yeah right, _Sora thought.

"…we should start with the test."

"Test?" Naruto asked. "What test? I thought we were already Genins!"

"Well, you graduated, that's all. You're still not an official ninja yet," Kakashi said standing up. "Let's meet at the training field at 5 in the morning tomorrow for the test and then we shall see. Oh yes, and don't eat breakfast because you'll probably throw it up."

"Huh?" Naruto and Sora said at the same time. Sasuke was a little shocked as well but didn't show it.

Kakashi smiled. "You're dismissed."

"What? That's it?" Sora asked in surprise.

"For today, yes," Kakashi said. He looked intensely at her with visible eye. She began to feel really uncomfortable.

Sasuke got up. "Then I'm going home." He walked towards the door of the classroom passing Sora stiffly.

Sora stared after Sasuke with contempt. _What's wrong with him? _

"Hey, Sora-chan!" Naruto interrupted her thoughts.

"Huh?" Sora turned around to face Naruto. Kakashi had disappeared.

"Well, I was thinking since we're going to be on the same team for a long time that we should train together," Naruto said looking down with a blush.

Sora smiled. "Of course. What about Sasuke?"

"Oh, forget about him, he's conceited and thinks that he's better than the rest of us!" Naruto said quickly.

Sora gave a soft laugh. "Yeah, I could see that he's proud."

Naruto smiled with glee. _Heh, she's awesome! Finally someone, some _girl_ agrees with me about Sasuke._

The two left the building together talking about the future. Actually Naruto was talking about the future and Sora was listening and laughing. Kakashi was on the roof of a nearby building looking at the two. _Sora…it's strange…I've never heard of anything about her and not even Hokage-sama knows anything about her. _He walked away from the edge of the building. _Well, I know she was lying about her last name at least. _Below him, Sora and Naruto had begun to race towards the training fields near the village wall. _Maybe I'll see what she can do. _Kakashi followed them easily from above.

"Naruto-kun!" Sora yelled as she saw Naruto go straight into a tree from looking back at Sora after entering the field.

CRASH! "Oww..." Naruto whimpered. _BAKA!_ he thought bitterly.

"Naruto-kun!" Sora said again as she ran to him. She dropped to her knees next to him and touched his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Naruto looked at Sora and blushed heavily. "I'm fine! Absolutely fine!" he lied rubbing his head.

_Naruto, Naruto, _Kakashi thought as he hid in a tree.

"Let's start training, Sora-chan!" Naruto said jumping to his feet. "You must be a really powerful ninja!"

"Uh…"

"Teach me some moves, please?" Naruto said.

_He's not ashamed to ask a girl?_ Sora thought. "Uh, sure!" She was actually happy to be around Naruto. "Where should we start?"

"I think my technique is where I need most work…" Naruto said a little embarrassed.

"Technique?" Sora said. "Well, most of my technique comes from my Chakra…"

"Chocolate? What?" Naruto said confused.

"Chakra, it's the melding of body and spirit energy that allows one to use elemental, ninja, and illusionary techniques in battle," Sora explained.

"Uh…" Naruto said.

Sora could see that if she was to help Naruto at all, she would need to start from the basics of Chakra. "The most important thing in using Chakra is to be relaxed and concentrated." She put her hands in a simple wind seal. Naruto followed her example. Sora closed her eyes. "Now just breathe…" She took in some icy cold air. Naruto shut his eyes and breathed in the air as well but…

"Ack!" he coughed. It was way too cold for him.

Sora kept her eyes closed. "Remain calm and focused. Allow your body to mold the Chakra within you." She blew some air out of her mouth. It turned into a small gust of wind filled with ice crystals. She opened her eyes and by using her controlling technique she steered it towards a rock that was lying in the frosty grass nearby. The wind began to pick up speed as she willed it to and then when it hit the rock, the rock burst into tiny pieces because the wind was carrying the ice crystals at such a rapid pace.

_Impressive, _Kakashi thought. _She didn't even use that much Chakra. How did she learn to use it so well without becoming a Chuunin already?_

Sora looked at Naruto. "You don't have to put ice in your wind. Use something that is easy for you…fire maybe?"

"Fire?"

"Yeah, fire is one of the easiest elements to mold," Sora said. "Try it."

Naruto nodded. He closed his eyes and concentrated. He put his hands in the jutsu position and inhaled through his mouth. This time he didn't cough. _Concentrate…concentrate… _He opened his eyes and blew out a small tornado with traces of fire in it. "Hey! I did it!" It was very strong at first but quickly dissipated. "Huh? Where'd it go?"

Sora smiled and laughed a little bit. "You used too much power to release it and lost your focus to maintain it. You are very strong but you can't maintain the strength. You must learn to let out small amounts of your energy and direct it with the rest. Attacks become more effective that way."

Naruto nodded and tried again…and again…and again…

About a half and hour later, Naruto was completely worn out and Sora was trying to keep him awake and standing. She laughed. "Naruto-kun, you like to use your power in great spurts of energy-" but then she was cut off by a rumbling coming from deep with the ground. "Huh?"

_What is that? _Kakashi said. He had been enjoying just watching Sora attempt to teach Naruto.

Then out of the ground came a gigantic serpent-like creature. "WHAAAA!" Naruto jumped in surprise.

Sora stayed perfectly calm. _I can't fight now…not in front of Naruto…I would... _she shuddered. _Think…run! _"Naruto-kun! We have to run!"

By now Naruto had overcome his shock. "NO WAY! THIS IS SOO COOL!" He began to run towards the great serpent. He pulled out his kunai. "I'm going to show you my specialty!"

"No, Naruto!" Sora ran after Naruto. _How does he have so much energy now? _

"AHHHH-" Naruto was powering up. The snake lunged at Naruto and he just barely dodged it. This boosted his confidence way too high.

Kakashi had decided not to interfere. _Let's see Sora's real fighting style._

Naruto jumped and stabbed at the snake but his kunai was deflected.

"Naruto, he has an armored skin!" Sora yelled to him.

"What?" Naruto lost his balance in the air and the snake whipped his body around to capture him in his coils. "AHH!"

"Naruto!" _I have no choice now…_ "Naruto, protect yourself!" Sora formed a small but powerful energy ball of snow and her own spirit Chakra in her hand.

_I can see the Chakra, _Kakashi thought in amazement. _Like my own technique._

Sora threw the ball with lightening speed and it struck the snake in the head. Naruto could feel the shock of the attack. "AHH!" he yelled when the snake squeezed harder. It fell over carrying Naruto underneath it.

"Naruto!" Sora whipped out her kunai daggers. _It's too late to stop now. _Her eyes turned to a silver color. She ran towards the snake at a full run, daggers out. The snake struck out with its fangs. It struck the ground. The poison from the fangs made the snow melt and the sand turn into quicksand. Sora stabbed the snake in the neck with one kunai and went for the main artery with the other. "TAKE THIS!" she yelled. Her power level was rising. Images flashed in front of her eyes. The sun…hot…her body weakened. Sand replaced the snow around her. It was her and the sand snake again in the desert. Fighting for her life. _No_... she began to become violent…out of control. She broke through the armor and sliced through the main artery of the snake and began stabbing it over and over again. Her silver eyes burned deeply with hate.

_What's this? _Kakashi began to be worried.

The snake was dead and its body was disintegrating into sand, but Sora was not done attacking. Her vision blurred. Everything slowed down. Heavy breathing…what was that?

Naruto had come out from under the snake. He was a little dazed. "Ugh…" He saw Sora. Her eyes were focused on him…her silver eyes. "What?"

_Enemy…demon! _Sora ran at Naruto.

"Sora!" Naruto got out his kunai quickly and by instinct blocked Sora's oncoming attack but got thrown back violently.

Sora was in a craze now. Kakashi saw his chance to move. He flew down and grabbed Sora from behind and squeezed her neck so she would become unconscious and brought her with him towards the village. Naruto also fell unconscious from Sora's attack. Kakashi knew he'd be all right and would probably wake up with no memory of the incident about Sora. _Who is this girl? _

The lake again. Snow falling gently. A couple flakes got caught in her eye lashes. Walking barefoot…the melting frost under her feet felt cool, refreshing, and peaceful. Winter with hollowed out, leafless trees. The mountains jutted through the clouds in the background. _No one can find me here. _Brushing a few strands of silver hair out of her eyes, she felt a presence. _Human? _She turned slowly. He was an unusually handsome young man. She couldn't move for a while, just staring. His eyes were a dark color, almost black. He was spellbound; she was paralyzed. _How can he withhold my beauty? _Pride, arrogance welled up inside. The young man came forward taking one step at a time. Slowly, slowly…never taking his eyes off of her. She looked at him with an icy but confused stare. The wind blew more strongly than before. Snow was picked up in the air and swirled around the two like a mist. He touched her face…a gentle touch. She closed her eyes. _What is this feeling? _He leaned close to her wrapping his arm around her back. His black hair mixed with her long silver hair and their lips met. Then…the ice broke in the lake. Dark clouds filled the sky and she threw the man back with a power surge of anger. Her eyes turned blood red. The hollow trees fell at the quake of the ground. She rose in the air, her silver hair blowing in the violent wind. Anger…Rage…Hatred…_Sora…_

"Ahh…" she cried softly in muted fear.

"Sora," the voice said again.

Her eyes shot open and she jerked herself up. "Don't touch me!" Her vision was blurred. She tried to get up but was held down by the other person. "Let me go!" She struggled to get free but was too weak against his grasp.

"Sora! Calm down," the voice commanded.

Sora looked steadily at the ground and her vision cleared. She saw two gloved hands holding her arms down from behind. She turned around. "Sensei?"

Kakashi's arms were wrapped around her. "Sora." After a moment, he let her go seeing that she was calmed down. "Breathe deeply. What did you see?"

"What?"

"You were having a dream…or a nightmare. What did you see?"

"Nightmare…" her voice trailed off and her eyes began to glaze over again.

"Sora." He grabbed her wrist to keep her from falling over.

She shook her head. "I…I don't remember anything but…pain."

"Pain?"

"It was unbearable," she tried to keep herself from crying and almost succeeded.

Kakashi saw that she was almost in tears and let go of her wrist. _The fighting with the snake must have caused some repressed memories to surface. She might've not even known about them beforehand. I wonder…_ He looked at her steadily with his visible eye. She was breathing heavily trying to control her emotions. She couldn't look at him. "You should get back to your room at the school." Kakashi got up and offered her his hand. She didn't see it and stood up on her own. "Do you want me to take you back?"

Sora looked up with no trace of tears in her eyes. "No, I think I can make it back. Thank you, Sensei-" She tried to take a step but stumbled.

Kakashi caught her and picked her up. "I think I'll have to insist on taking you back." He smiled with his eyes.

Sora could hardly stay awake. Her energy was drained. "Sensei…"

Kakashi carried her all the way to her room and unlocked the door all while holding Sora's delicate body. He put her on her mattress and covered her with a blanket. "Sora, can you hear me?" She stirred on the mattress, her eyes still shut. He sighed and turned to leave. At the door, he glanced back at her. Her face was already beginning to get some color back into it. He left the room and locked the door. _A very interesting team indeed. _He disappeared.

Sora woke up the next morning at 4 feeling refreshed as if nothing but a friendly training session with Naruto had gone on. But she remembered the black out. _Hmm…_ She quickly washed and changed into her fighting dress. She decided to skip meditating that morning because she was too excited to concentrate. Of course she didn't eat and ran quickly to the spot that Kakashi had said to meet the previous day.

Sasuke woke at 4 as well and calmly walked to the field after washing and dressing. He wasn't worried about the test at all but rather _Sora…_

Naruto woke up at 5. "WHAT THE HECK?" He jumped out of bed, threw his clothes on, washed, and ran at full speed to the field.

Sora was the first to arrive. _Ha! Beat Sasuke. _She looked around for any sign of Kakashi then she saw a figure in the distance walking slowly. _Huh? Is it Sensei? _She squinted her eyes to see more clearly and then, _oh, it's Sasuke. I should be nice. I mean, we're going to be on the same team for a really…long…time…_ She looked down. _Act like nothing happened. Yeah, just act normal and besides he's pretty cute. _Her head shot up. _Did I say that out loud?_

"Hi."

Sora looked at him. "Oh, hello Sasuke-kun." She wanted to make sure he knew that she was trying to be respectful and friendly. She smiled.

_Kun? Strange… _He stared at her.

"Sasuke," she got serious and her eyes dropped. "I…I'm sorry for the way I was acting before and well…I just wanted to start from the beginning and be on friendly terms, you know since we're going to be together a lot for the next year or so…"

"Sora."

She stopped and looked up at him.

"I'm sorry," he said simply. "I was too weak to control myself and that fault is mine."

_Well, so he can be a gentleman! _"Oh, no that's ok," _uh, no it wasn't, _"We've really got to-"

"SORA-CHAN!" Naruto ran up to the other two. Sasuke grunted in disgust and estimated that it was around 5:10. "Sorry I'm late again but I…"

Sora laughed and stopped him. "It's okay! Now all we have to do is wait for Sensei." The three waited patiently. An hour passed. Naruto was falling asleep and Sora was sitting in the grass. Sasuke kept standing but was very annoyed. A few more hours passed.

"Dammit!" Naruto whined. "Why isn't he here yet?"

"I don't know," Sora said quietly. _What kind of guy would be late to something so important? _She was annoyed as well.

Sasuke kept standing. _Is he really a Jounin? _he thought angrily.

Then Kakashi appeared. "Good morning," he said with energy. "It is now time for that test you've all been waiting for."

Sora got up. "It's been hours!" she said exasperated. "You told us to come at five!"

"Oh?" Kakashi said and glanced at the sky. "I'm sorry. I got lost on the path known as life…"

"Eh?" Naruto and Sora said. But then Naruto was energized at once. "What is this test?" _I'm not going to lose to Sasuke…_

"It's very simple." He took out two silver bells. "All you three have to do is take the bells from me and then you'll pass."

Sora looked at him confused. "Wait, there're only two bells."

"Yes," he said lazily while tying them onto his belt.

Sasuke looked at Kakashi. _What is he trying to pull?_

_That means only two of us can pass!_ Naruto thought. _I've got to get one and Sora too!_

_There has to be a catch somewhere…why were we put on a team of three if only two of us can pass?_ Sora thought.

Kakashi pulled out an alarm clock and set it for noon. "You have until noon to get the bells and if you don't then you can't eat lunch!" he explained happily.

"WHAT?" Sora and Naruto said together.

"So that's why you didn't want us to eat breakfast so that we would be even hungrier by lunch!" Sora said. Kakashi looked at her with a hidden smirk. "That's kinda mean," she added quietly.

"All right! Piece of cake!" Naruto said with confidence. He whipped out a kunai and charged at full speed at Kakashi and then, "AHHH!" Kakashi had a hold of Naruto's wrist and was facing the kunai towards his head.

"I didn't say start yet," Kakashi said, his voice becoming dark.

"Ow," Naruto whimpered as Kakashi let him go.

"Now, ready?" The three tightened up. "Set?" They got ready to jump. "GO!" The three jumped. Sora and Sasuke hid and Naruto…well…

Kakashi looked around to see where they had gone. "Well, at least you know how to hide. That's a crucial part of being a nin-"

"SENSEI!"

Kakashi looked up.

"RIGHT HERE! JUST YOU AND ME!" Naruto was standing on top of the hill in plain sight with his arms crossed and a huge smile on his face.

Kakashi sweat-dropped. _This is going to be a long day._

Naruto charged at Kakashi with both kunai daggers out. "AHHHH!" Kakashi easily dodged him and disappeared. "Huh?" Naruto began looking around for Kakashi.

"Never let your enemy get behind you, Naruto."

"WHA?" he could feel the sensei behind him. He was about to turn around but,

"Naruto! He's using the tiger seal!" Sora's voice came from somewhere.

"Uh…" Naruto began to shake.

_So that's where she's hiding, _Kakashi thought.

By trying to warn Naruto, Sora had given away her hiding place. _Shoot. S_he got up to run to another hiding spot. _I must not be seen._

Kakashi turned his attention back to Naruto. "The way of the ninja is to take his enemy by surprise." He made his attack a very weak one so that it only had enough power to fling him into the icy cold water. Kakashi ran off to find Sora. _Hmm…maybe she's getting the idea. _

Sora ran through the trees and bushes as quietly and quickly as she could. _Shoot. There's no snow on the ground today. _She found a tree that looked suitable for hiding and quickly jumped up to a branch. _Now, where is Naruto? _She began to try and sense him but by doing that she let her guard down.

"Sora…"

"HUH?" she turned around and lo and behold Kakashi was squatting on the branch next to her smiling. _Stupid, stupid, stupid! Never let your guard down! Not even for a teammate…_

Kakashi shot a fire jutsu attack at Sora. She nimbly dodged it and landed on the ground. Kakashi was after her in an instant. "Running is useless," he warned. "Fight me."

Sora ignored him and ran into the open field. _Just get him in the right position and-_she turned around in a flash and blew an ice spear at…nothing? The spear struck a tree. Sora stopped. _Where'd he go? _

Sasuke had been watching, waiting for a chance to attack. He saw Naruto getting flung into the water; he saw Sora running from an image of Kakashi. _Is she that dumb to fall for that? Something must be distracting her. _He stayed hidden and ever watchful.

Sora disappeared in an instant and was once again hidden. _Never let your guard down, baka!_

The real Kakashi had been watching for Naruto. _At this rate, they'll never pass, _Kakashi sighed.

Then Naruto appeared as if out of nowhere in front of Kakashi. "SENSEI! YOU WON'T GET THE BEST OF ME THIS TIME!" He charged at Kakashi again.

_Will he never learn? _Kakashi stood in a stance ready to ward him off but then...

"Kage Buushin No Jutsu!" Naruto yelled.

"Huh?" 10, no 20 Narutos appeared before him all rushing at him. _Impressive, but dumb, _Kakashi thought. Then he felt something around him. "What?" It was a wet Naruto that had crawled out from the river.

"HAH! You said yourself, sensei, don't let your enemies get behind you," Naruto said.

"Now, we're going to get one of those bells right now!" yelled another Naruto. One of the Narutos clenched his fist and powered up. "AHH!" POW!

"OWWWWWWWWWW!" a Naruto shouted. He was being held by the other Naruto that came from the river.

"What?"

"How?"

"You! You must be Kakashi-sensei disguised as me!"

"What? No, YOU are!"

"What the hell?" The Narutos began fighting amongst themselves.

_He must've used the replacement technique,_ Sasuke thought as he disdainfully eyed the mass of fighting Narutos.

Naruto finally became one again. He was bruised and beat up as one can imagine. "Ow…" Naruto groaned but then, "hey, look a bell! Hah, my attack must've gotten to him!" Sure enough there was a bell lying on the ground. "Hehehe!" Naruto said as he ran to it then-"WHAT THE HECK?" His leg was caught in a rope. "A trap!"

Sora watched from her hiding spot. _Should I go and help him? But I might make a stupid mistake again. How could I be so stupid? But I should help. But…_

Kakashi appeared and picked up the bell. "Naruto, always be ready for everything," he tied it back to his belt again, "and _never_ go for obvious bait."

"I GET IT! Why you blah, blah, blah…" He began insulting everything he could while hanging upside down from the tree.

"I'm saying it because you don't get it," Kakashi said getting a little annoyed at Naruto. "You've been too full of yourself with all of your pranks you pull around the village and…"

_Now's my chance! _Sasuke thought as he got his shuriken knives ready then-_Yes! A perfect hit!_

Kakashi was struck to the side.

"WHAT?" Naruto yelled. "That's too far Sasuke!"

Sora was in a shock. _How could he take such an attack? _She was too shocked to move, too scared to fight because of her previous mistake.

Sasuke jumped from his hiding place to the ground. But then POOF! Kakashi turned into a tree stump. _The replacement technique! _Sasuke thought. _Now he knows where I am! _He began running as fast as he could to get away.

"You didn't think I would let my guard down," a voice said.

Sasuke stopped abruptly and turned to see Kakashi standing with his hands in his pocket staring evilly at him. _I've got to get that bell! _He rushed at the sensei with his fists ready to attack. He jumped and delivered a powerful kick to his face. Kakashi blocked it with ease but then Sasuke retaliated quickly with a punch. Kakashi used his other hand to block that as well. Sasuke then tried a kick with his other leg.

_Who is this kid? _Kakashi thought as he blocked the last kick but just barely. Then…ding…ding… _Huh? The bell! _Sasuke had touched the bell! Kakashi quickly pushed Sasuke away and jumped back. _This Uchiha kid…_

_Damn it! _Sasuke thought as he landed.

"Don't underestimate your opponent, Sasuke," Kakashi warned as he stood up.

Sasuke didn't respond. He was frustrated. _I must be stronger…_ "FIRE BALL JUTSU!" He put his hand to his mouth and delivered a powerful blast of fire at Kakashi. It seemed to hit him directly but when the smoke cleared-w_here…where did he go? Is he behind me? _He whirled around in a frenzy. He looked up and to the sides with his eyes. _Where? _

"I'm where you least expect me."

"Huh?" A hand shot up from the ground and grabbed his leg. "AH!" Before he knew it, Sasuke was buried in the ground up to his head. He couldn't move much less bring his hands together to form seals.

"Over-confidence," Kakashi said without looking down at Sasuke. "Don't rely so much on your own powers." With that, he disappeared.

_He…how…? _Sasuke struggled to get out. _Damn him._

Sora was watching from her hiding spot the entire time. _He really is a Jounin._ She sensed that Kakashi was further away. _Probably looking for Naruto. _She had also seen while the other two were fighting Naruto had cut himself free and had gone to a courtyard nearby. _I wonder where he is. _

She jumped down from her tree and cautiously walked into the open. She came up to Sasuke from behind. _Hmmm… _She put her hands on his neck.

"Wha?" He tensed.

Sora laughed. "Sorry, Sasuke," she walked around him so that he could see her. "Earth Element!" She put her hands on the ground in front of Sasuke. The earth began to move and soon lifted Sasuke up so that he was standing on the ground in front of her.

He glared at her. "Don't ever sneak up on me again."

Sora stifled a giggle and got up. "I'm sorry," she said trying her best not to laugh. "You're Taijutsu skills are impressive," she added trying to show that she was going to be nice now.

"Not good enough." He looked away.

"Huh?"

Sasuke paused a bit. "I'm an Avenger. I need to be stronger than my prey. I must become more powerful."

Sora looked at him. _Avenger? _The sun shone brightly on the two. "It's almost noon," she said changing the subject. "We won't be able to get the bells in time."

He turned to her. "I touched one."

_He touched one? _Sora thought. _He must be more powerful than I thought he was..._

Meanwhile Naruto had spotted the lunches in the courtyard and had gone to them. _I'm soooo hungry! _He ignored the warning in the back of his mind and opened one. "Mmmmm!" He almost put some in his mouth but-

"Naruto," someone said behind him.

"WHA?" he whipped around and saw Kakashi squatting on top of the stone he was leaning against.

"You broke the rule." He grabbed Naruto and tied him to one of the wooden pillars. "As punishment, you won't be able to have lunch." The bell rang on the alarm clock he had brought that signified noon.

Sora and Sasuke heard the bell. They both knew what was coming and went towards the courtyard.

Kakashi saw them approaching and smiled. "Well, you guys failed."

"WHAT?" Naruto yelled struggling against the ropes.

Sora looked down. Sasuke's expression told that he was trying very hard to keep himself from striking.

"I'm sorry but I think that you guys should be banned from becoming Genins from now on," Kakashi said matter-of-factly.

Now all three of them looked up in surprise and anger. "You can't do that!" Naruto yelled. "You can only send us back to the academy! It's not fair!"

"You three…" Kakashi said turning his voice becoming suddenly angrier. "Why do you think that they put you on teams of three?" Nobody responded. "Naruto, you spent all of your time fighting me head on with no strategy at all. That is not the way of a ninja. You shame yourself." He looked at Sora. "You make one little mistake and it keeps you from helping Naruto and fighting me because you're afraid of making another. Mistakes happen. It's your job to fix them not run from them. And you, Uchiha…" Sasuke hardened his expression. "You fought me thinking you were so clever and high leveled. Arrogance…that is not the way of the ninja." Sasuke's countenance broke. He rushed at the sensei with the intent to kill him but ended up on the ground with Kakashi sitting on him holding down his head. "Even now," Kakashi said. "Where is your teamwork? Each of you by yourselves cannot defeat me but maybe if you attacked all together you could have taken the bells from me. The main part of being a ninja is teamwork. Without it, all missions would fail as did all of you."

Sora looked away. Naruto struggled fiercely. "That's totally unfair! Blah, blah…"

"Sora," Kakashi whipped out a kunai. "Decisions must be made. Hesitation could lead to death." He put the dagger to Sasuke's throat. "Kill Naruto now or else Sasuke will die."

Sora stared at Kakashi without moving. _He's not serious is he? _She started shaking.

Naruto looked at Sora, his eyes were enormous. "Sora?"

"Sora?" Kakashi said.

_This is…_she shut her eyes…_too much!_

Kakashi put the blade away. "These are decisions that must be made on missions. Are you strong enough to make one and not run away?" Sora opened her eyes. Kakashi got off of Sasuke. "Now eat."

"Huh?" Naruto said.

"Eat. I'm going to give you one more chance," Kakashi said. "Eat to get your strength back. But if anyone feeds Naruto, you will all fail immediately."

"What?" Naruto yelled.

"That's what you get for breaking the rules." Kakashi walked away.

The three were alone now. Sasuke and Sora opened their lunches but neither of them ate. Naruto looked at them. "Aren't you going to eat?"

Sasuke didn't look at Naruto. Sora turned to him. "Naruto, eat some of mine."

Sasuke and Naruto both looked at her like she was crazy. "WHAT? NO WAY!" both of them said.

"Didn't you guys hear Sensei?" Sora said. "We're a team. If Naruto doesn't eat he'll weaken the team."

Naruto immediately changed his mind. "Well, you're going to have to feed me then cuz I can't move my hands."

Sora looked at him incredulously. She sighed. "Fine."

Sasuke didn't say anything. _I hope she's right then…_

She scooped some rice with her chopsticks and fed it to Naruto. But then-

It grew dark and lightening filled the sky. Kakashi appeared in front of them from a cloud of smoke. His eye was filled with rage. "You disobeyed my orders?" His voice filled the air with fury. Naruto's eyes popped out with fear as he shook in his bonds. "Now you'll all…" Sora shut her eyes tight waiting for the worst. Sasuke glared at Kakashi with restrained rage ready to defend Sora if need be. "…pass." Kakashi smiled.

"HUH?" Naruto said. The sky grew light again and Kakashi was standing there happily with his hand in his pocket.

"How is that?" Sora asked opening her eyes.

"Well, you did disobey my orders and fed Naruto but you did it out of teamwork. You're the first team to ever pass my test. You boys better thank Sora for her understanding but I guess you guys should be commended as well for going along with her even if it meant that you'd never become ninjas," Kakashi explained.

Naruto turned to Sora with tears in his eyes. "Sora! You're the best teammate I could ever have!" Sora blushed and patted Naruto with a smile. Sasuke looked at Naruto with disgust.

_They are such an interesting trio, _Kakashi thought as he took in their actions. _I wonder what will happen in the end. _"Well, you'd all better head home because tomorrow we go on our first mission as a team."

Sora nodded and Sasuke got up. Then the three of them started to walk towards the village.

"HEY WAIT A MINUTE! YOU FORGOT ME!" Naruto yelled after them as they walked into the afternoon sky.

Sora woke up early as usual the next day with a feeling of refreshment. After washing and eating a light breakfast, she decided that there was time to do some morning meditation and exercises. She went outside to the student garden. The air was crisp and pure. She inhaled and exhaled with a puff of smoke. The ground was covered in a thin layer of frost. _Such beautiful weather, _she thought as she walked along the path in the garden. She found some winter flowers that stood against winter's harsh treatment. Bending down, she touched their delicate petals and felt their strong resistance to the cold. Then she felt a presence.

"Sora."

She looked up and saw a cloaked man. His eyes were a strange red. He had dark grey hair that was pulled back in a pony tail but his long bangs hung around his face. He couldn't have been more than 25. She started. He looked like Sasuke but... "Sasuke?"

_Sasuke?_ the man thought. _So, she knows Sasuke._ He narrowed his eyes darkly and approached her.

She backed away. This man gave her an uneasy feeling.

The man stopped after a few steps when he saw her suspicion. _She's the one. _He made central eye contact with Sora and began to take over her mind.

All of a sudden he felt familiar to Sora; she felt that she could trust him. _Is this a dream? _Sora didn't know what happened next. She felt her body walk to him. She felt her hand touch his face. _He is handsome…_ She could not control her mind.

He never took his eyes off of her, never breaking the connection. He drew her closer then placed his hand on the back of her head and lowered his head.

Sora couldn't stop. She couldn't say anything or do anything. She closed her eyes and felt his lips brush lightly against her own. She felt his warm body against hers. He withdrew slightly then came back with a deeper kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck. It felt right to do so…

The transition was complete and the man had control over her mind but he lost control over himself. He pushed forward more and more. He backed her into a tree and held her there with his kiss. _She is mine, _he thought as he pushed his tongue into her mouth. _Mine._

Sora felt another presence in the garden. _Sasuke? _Sora began to gain back her consciousness. She broke the kiss and turned her head breathing hard. The man kissed her cheek and made his way down to her neck. "Wait," she stammered.

The man stopped to look into her eyes. He was encased in them. He couldn't think right and didn't notice the other presence. _She's so beautiful. _"Don't talk," he commanded roughly. "You belong with me." He moved in for another kiss.

_Belong? _Sora's heart began to race. Then her conscious mind kicked in. _Whoa, I don't even know him and now I _belong _to him? _She suddenly pushed him away.

The man let her push him and he smiled evilly. _She broke the connection? _"What's wrong, my love?"

_Love? _"What? I don't know you! You can't just…just come here and…well…you… you…" She turned to get away but he grabbed her arm. "Let me go!"

"I've searched for too long. You're mine!" he snarled viciously. He began to gather his Chakra to cast a paralysis spell on her.

She sensed his power. _He's too powerful!_ She struggled. _But I've got to fight! _She tried striking him with her free hand. He dodged it easily but let her go. She jumped back now fully awake. She conjured up her Chakra with lightening speed and released a bolt of energy. The man didn't run. He didn't make a move to dodge it. He stood still and smiled wickedly. _Huh? If he doesn't move he's going to take a direct hit! _Sora thought.

But the man caught the energy with his bare hands. He was shoved back a few feet and his feet dug into the ground leaving marks. He winced slightly in pain. _She's much stronger than I thought,_ he thought as he dissolved the Chakra. _Maybe this isn't the time… _He advanced making his own attack as he walked.

Sora was shocked. _How could he just _catch_ my attack? _She began to feel fear. _No! I must be strong. _She focused her Chakra at the frost on the ground. She made it form into hundreds of needles of ice. Her eyes glowed silver as she released them at the same time at the man. But he used his own Chakra he had been building up to disappear for an instant.

_Where'd he go? _Sora felt her confidence decline significantly. She formed an ice chain with a blade at the end of it from the frost on the bushes and trees. _Where? _She focused her senses and then- "There!" she shouted as he reappeared a few feet away. She ran at him and attacked by throwing the blade at the man while still holding on to the end of the chain. The man whipped out a sword and blocked the attack. Sora retaliated and pulled the blade back quickly but in the blink of an eye she attacked again. The man saw his chance and dodged it but purposefully caught his sword in the chain. _Shoot! _Sora didn't pull back this time but formed a blade on the end of the chain that she was holding and threw that at the man as well. The man used a fire jutsu to melt the entire weapon of ice. _WHAT? How did he do that? My ice can't be melted in just any fire. What kind of power does he have? _The man advanced on her quickly and struck with his sword. Sora got out her kunai and they clashed together in a powerful physical attack. They struck again and again. She knew that he was just toying with her not showing his true power. She couldn't win without using all of her power. _My promise…Father…_ She needed to run away. _Sensei! I need to find Kakashi-sensei! _She dodged the next attack and started to run away but the ground broke in front of her and deadly steam shot out. She was trapped.

"Do you think that after looking for you for all these years I'm just going to let you go?" the man said walking towards her. "You've tortured me night after night in my dreams, ever since I was young. My purpose in life…" He conjured up more Chakra for the paralysis attack. "Was to find you!" He grabbed her wrist releasing his attack into her body.

Sora let out a muffled scream as she felt her body go numb.

Then two shuriken knives came flying out of nowhere. The man had just enough time to swipe them away with his sword releasing Sora in the process. But then star knives came flying from all directions and it was impossible to dodge without disappearing.

_I let my guard down! _The man disappeared and reappeared further away from Sora. The star knives collided with each other and fell to the ground. _What is this presence? _He thought as he got his Chakra ready. He was about to attack when- _Sasuke? What a nuisance. I must leave now but..._ He glanced at Sora. _I'll be back.._

Sora dropped to her knees. _Until next time,_ said the voice of the man in her head. She felt his presence leave.

Sasuke dropped from the tree he was hiding in. He hadn't seen the face of the man, all he saw was someone attacking his red-haired teammate. "Sora!" He ran to her and caught her before she completely collapsed. "Sora? Come on stay awake!" He felt her body go cold for a second but then she grasped his arm.

"Sa…Sasuke?" she stammered and looked into his eyes.

"Sora." He breathed a sigh of relief. He dispelled the rest of the man's Chakra from her body then helped her to her feet. "Who was that man?"

"He-" She cut her self off. "I don't know." she said with difficulty.

"If there's a man after your life, I-we should not let you be alone," he said quickly not noticing her hesitation. He blushed a bit and looked away.

_Does he really care? _Sora asked herself in surprise. She sighed. "No, I'm fine, I…" She thought it through. "Please don't tell anyone, Sasuke!" She grabbed his arm. "Please?"

Sasuke looked at her. "Sora-"

"Sasuke, please!" Sora asked with a pleading voice. "Please?"

Sasuke couldn't control his reasonable mind. He sighed. _How does she do that? _"Sora, I won't tell anyone if you promise me that you'll tell me the truth about yourself."

"Truth?" _Sasuke, you idiot… _Sora hadn't been expecting something like that from him. "I guess I don't have a choice then." But then she looked at the sky. "If we don't get going soon then we're going to be late for our mission."

"Tell me."

"Sasuke, I promise to tell you later but right now we need to go."

Sasuke hated being late and he also looked at the sky. It was almost 7 o'clock. He sighed again. "I'll hold you to that."

"Thank you."

"Hm." Sasuke grabbed her hand and jumped out of the garden dragging Sora with him.

The missions for that day came and went and the three Genins all agreed that it wasn't as exciting as they thought it would be. The Third Hokage explained the different levels of missions and as Genins, they would only be able to D ranked missions. These missions seemed more like running errands for people. They pulled weeds, picked up trash in a river, and other small things that didn't seem to do anything for their supposed experience gaining. Sora had patiently waited for the end of the day to talk to Kakashi and hopefully get away from Sasuke and Naruto. They had been fighting with each other all day and Sora just wanted to get done with them. She had had a hard time keeping her patience with the two.

Finally it was their last mission for the day. They were to find a lost cat and Kakashi decided to split the group up. "Naruto, Sasuke," he said addressing them with a sigh. "You two need to learn the value of teamwork but since you guys can't seem to get the idea through your heads, I'm going to split you all up this time." Both Naruto and Sasuke hoped that the splitting up meant being paired with Sora and Kakashi knew what they were thinking. "I want you two to do this last mission. Sora and I will stay behind."

"What?" Naruto said completely taken aback.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes but restrained himself from saying anything.

Sora looked at Kakashi a little hesitantly. _Does he know what I'm thinking? _

Kakashi turned from the boys and started walking away. He motioned Sora after him. "Now you boys go find Mrs. Anagawa's cat and work together without us, ok?"

Sora glanced at the boys who were glaring at each other. She sighed. "Just work together for once, please?" She had tried to be the peacemaker within the group for the whole day and it wasn't really working since she was the main reason why they hated each other. Every time she tried to talk to Naruto, Sasuke would get this sort of look on his face of contained anger and every time she talked to Sasuke, Naruto would butt in and try to show off to Sora and get himself into trouble. Sora walked after Kakashi leaving the boys to find the lost pet.

When she fell into step a few paces behind Kakashi, she started think of how she would ease into the issue she had wanted to discuss with him.

"Sora, you've wanted to talk to me in private all day haven't you?" Kakashi said without turning around.

Sora looked up in surprise. _Well, that saves me the trouble of trying to start the conversation. How does he know?_ "Um, yeah…" She looked down and stopped walking.

Kakashi stopped and turned around looking straight at her with his visible eye. _She shows her emotion to openly,_ he noted as he lifted her chin. Now he could see into her eyes. Her captivating eyes.

"Sensei," Sora said shakily, "there was a man today in the student garden this morning and he…uh…knew my name." She left out the kissing and fighting. She didn't want to alarm Kakashi but she wanted to feel a little safer.

"Hmmm," Kakashi said as he withdrew his hand to place it under his own chin. He looked towards the sky. "Sora, I know that you're worried and you want my help but I need to know more about you."

Sora frowned. _Why does everyone want to know? _she thought exasperated.

Kakashi saw her frustration and smiled. "I know you feel uncomfortable about your past but tell me. I need to know."

Sora looked to the side and shifted her feet. Many other people had probed around in her life trying to find her past but she had never let any of them pass. Kakashi…maybe he was different. "Sensei, I've never told anyone this…" She paused.

Kakashi said nothing but looked intensely at Sora while crossing his arms.

"I guess I should start at my earliest memory. I never knew any parents. I guess my memories only take me back to when I was found asleep by some villagers of a hidden village. I don't even remember the name of it. I grew up as the adopted daughter of the leader of that village because he had no children. I don't know how long I was there or how old I was, but he trained me every day in the way of the ninja. He taught me jutsu and how to use my Chakra. He was the only one I ever knew as family. As I got older and more powerful, he sent me away to different countries to gain experience as a ninja. Of course I would always come back to see him and tell him of my progress. After coming back from the country of Water, I found that my village was destroyed. Everyone was dead. I just…I couldn't believe it." She shuddered at the thought. "My father was a very powerful ninja and whoever had destroyed the village had to have killed him to do it. I looked for survivors and found one barely alive. He was an old friend of mine and he told me with his last breath that only one man destroyed the village and he was looking for me. He died in my arms." She paused to get control over her emotions and fought furiously to hold back tears. Then she continued. "I went insane I guess and ran away from…everything. I almost killed myself. It was my fault somehow. That man…he killed the entire village looking for me. I don't know what happened next, but I began to train harder than before. I taught myself the meaning of suffering and pain and I improved my technique for the ice element. I continued to go to the different countries for experience…I don't know why." She stopped again to hold back the threatening tears. She didn't let them fall. "I'm afraid that the man I met today was the man who was looking for me before."

_No past…no future..._ Kakashi thought. _Someone so powerful after her life and she's still so young yet has the potential power and experience of a powerful ninja. Her memory only started when she was awaken…_ He closed his eyes. _Awaken?_

_He hasn't said anything,_ Sora thought. She felt embarrassed and ashamed of her past. _What if he's not different?_

Kakashi suddenly opened his eyes and locked his gaze into Sora's eyes. _I must…_ "Sora, I need you to trust me now," he said as he reached for his forehead protector that covered his eye. "I need to know more." He placed a hand on Sora's cheek with his other hand and forced her to look straight at him. He lifted the forehead protector revealing the eye that had been hidden.

Sora started slightly. He had a scar across that eye and it was red. _Sharingan? _She began to tremble. _Is he going to possess my mind? _

"Don't be afraid." He focused his gaze intently on Sora's eyes.

She didn't blink, she couldn't. Her consciousness began to fade.

Kakashi looked through his Sharingan into Sora's mind.

Darkness and swirling mists of…ice? The lake appeared. A presence…and then- Kakashi snapped out of his concentration. Sora came back to reality and she closed her eyes. She felt weakened. Kakashi stood up straight. _Is it true? _He began to feel a little worried. _If it is true…if she is…I have to…NO! I must not jump to conclusions. _He regained his composure as Sora opened her eyes once again captivating his gaze. _What is she doing to me? _

"Sensei?" She didn't see anything that Kakashi had seen in her mind. She wasn't aware of the forgotten memories that Kakashi had uncovered.

"Let's head back to the village and meet with the other two," he said completely changing his tone of voice while covering his left eye again.

Sora blinked. _What?_ "Sensei, are you-"

"Don't worry Sora," he smiled reassuringly. "If you're worried, I will protect you."

Sora blinked again. _What did he see? _

Kakashi saw the confusion in her eyes. He felt the sudden urge to hold her close and make sure she felt all right. He wanted to stay with her until she was safe even if it took all night. _Wait a minute, she's 7 years younger than I am. You pervert,_ he said to himself. He turned from her to avoid her gaze. _Why am I feeling this way? _He could not deny that she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen and that she had captivated him. He felt that he wanted to be with her especially after having the connection with her in her head. He felt closer to her than a teacher and student. He would not let anything happen to her, he decided then began to walk.

Sora was worried that Kakashi was uncomfortable about something. She walked after him and touched his arm lightly. "Sensei? Are you…"

Kakashi almost lost control of himself when he felt her hand on his arm and stopped abruptly closing his eyes. _Calm yourself…calm…_

Sora paused and withdrew her hand. _What is his deal? _she thought.

"I have to look into some things before I can be sure of what to think," he said carefully after he regained control of himself. "If you'd feel safer, I will guard your room tonight." _What am I getting myself into? _It wasn't uncommon for a sensei to stay with a student for a night even if they were of opposite genders. _Am I just tempting myself? _he thought. _Too late now._

"No, it's okay," Sora said with effort. She wanted him to stay because she felt safer around him but she wanted to be polite too. Kakashi sighed with relief but also a hint of disappointment. "I mean, if it's not too much trouble…" She looked down. _What am I saying? _

"If you feel uncomfortable with me around, I understand. I just want make sure this man doesn't come back," Kakashi said quickly.

Sora was definitely afraid and wanted to stay with Kakashi for safety. _When did I become such a coward? _"No, I don't feel uncomfortable, I just don't want to inconvenience you..."

Kakashi laughed a little. _She's cute when she's uneasy._ "I'll protect you with my life, Sora." With that he turned towards the village and walked to meet the two boys who could be seen on the bridge.

Sora watched him go. _Am I becoming paranoid? _

"HEY, SORA!" She looked up at the boys on the bridge. It was Naruto. He was happy to see Sora and wanted to tell her about how he totally put Sasuke to shame during the mission and that he saved the day.

Sora smiled and laughed a little as she walked towards them. Then she saw Sasuke. He gazed at her intently and Sora immediately saw a resemblance. _That man…he looks almost exactly like Sasuke just…older? _She stopped and stared at Sasuke with wide eyes.

_What is she doing? _Sasuke thought as he broke the gaze.

Naruto hadn't noticed that Sasuke was looking at Sora. He ran over to her and began talking. Sora was actually kind of happy to have Naruto add some humor into her day. _Ah, Naruto, _she thought and smiled.

Sora wanted to get home as quickly as she possibly could and forgot her promise to Sasuke. Kakashi was going back with her to watch over her. She was silent with thought. _I'm such a coward. Father would not want to see me so weak, but that man…even with my real power I don't know if I could have defeated him. _Sora had remembered her adopted father's words wherever she went.

"Don't show anyone your real power, Sora. It's far too great for anyone to know about until you get older. You cannot become a ninja by staying here so I'm going to send you to all the great countries of this world and there you will gain your experience. Build up your power to its limit but only show the minimum amount. Otherwise…" He was silent with thought. A younger Sora was looking at him intently. He smiled and patted her head. "Just keep it a secret until you've become a full ninja in the Country of Fire."

"Why the Fire Country, Father?" she had asked.

"The Fire Country is where the most powerful ninjas come from. Their Hokages have been exalted throughout history and they have the best training masters as well."

"Then I should go to the Fire Country right now, Father! I have the ability to pass any test!" Sora had said eagerly.

"No." His look turned serious. "I want you to gain as much knowledge of the world as you possibly can before you go to Konoha."

Sora was shocked at her father's sudden turn around of emotion. "I…I'm sorry…"

He knelt down so that his face was level with hers. "You do have the power and skill to be one of the greatest ninjas of our time right now. But I'm afraid for your growth as a child…as a human being and not as a ninja. That is why you must have patience. Wait, and never show your real power."

Sora was still confused on why he wanted her to hide her real power. She didn't even know what her real power was.

Sora's adopted father got up and stared at the clouds in the sky. _No one should know Sora's real power yet. It is too dangerous for them and for herself_, he thought. _Until she is ready, it must be kept secret._

He pictured a time during their training very early on when Sora was to fight a beast from the wilderness that had been terrifying the villagers. He had thought that Sora was ready to take on such a beast but when she did, she did not check her powers and used her Chakra uncontrollably. The beast was completely dissembled with in a matter of seconds in the most violent way imaginable. Sora's eyes had turned a cold silver color. When the dust and particles from the beast had settled from the air, he could see Sora looking down at her hands in terror. Her eyes still that terrible silver. He approached her. She quickly looked up and began to attack. He hadn't expected this and was completely shocked. She created a million ice daggers and had aimed them all at him. He used his Chakra to shield himself but it still pushed him down into the earth. _Such force, _he had thought. Sora got completely out of control then. It was almost as if she was a demon… Sora's adopted father shouted to Sora and pleaded with her to stop. His voice had somehow subsided her anger and her eyes turned back to normal. Sora fell to the ground in an unconscious state. _Is she the legend? _he had thought with fear. He walked up to her body and watched as her hands turned from claws to her regular hands. Her clothes were shredded showing her back to have a split in the middle but it healed up quickly. He was almost sure of it now. _She must never find out…_

_I have kept my powers under control, _Sora thought. She had no memory of the incident with the beast and was still confused at why her father wanted her powers to remain a secret but she followed her father's orders anyway. _I need to be strong! Stronger than that man. I cannot afford to be afraid. _She looked up at Kakashi. "Sensei," she said cautiously.

"Yes, Sora?"

"Um, I think I'll be all right tonight, um, you don't have to stay with me."

Kakashi looked at Sora strangely. "Are you sure?"

"Uh, yes, I'm all right. I just need some time to myself that's all." She looked away.

"Hmm…" Kakashi understood that Sora was trying to hide something from him but also that she needed this time for herself. He decided to let her go by herself but he would watch from a distance. _Just in case. _"All right then. You'd better keep your guard up and be careful."

"I will!" Sora said a little too quickly. "I mean, I'll be careful. Thank you," she ended with embarrassment.

Kakashi made sure that Sora got into the building and then leaped to the top of the building next to hers to keep watch over Sora. _Something's up with her, _he thought as he stood against the moonlight.

To Sora's relief, nothing happened during the night. She woke with the sun, washed, and ate a light breakfast. _I've been remiss in my meditations lately, _she thought as she went outside, but not to the student garden. Instead she went into the forest and found a spot near the lake. It was beautiful with the morning mist covering the glassy stillness of the water. The sun made bright reflections of color on the surface. All was still. Sora breathed in the cold air. _Perfect._ She closed her eyes and began to meditate.

Her adopted father appeared. This was the first time he had ever entered her meditations. _Father? _

_Sora, your growth as a child…as a human being…that is what I'm worried about,_ the image said to her.

_As a human being…but Father, I've missed you._

_Don't dwell on the past. Look towards your future. _

_I can't forget. I can never forget._

_Be strong but cautious. Never show your full power until you are a real shinobi._

_But there is a man after me-_

_Never show your full power.._

"Sora."

Her eyes shot open. She whirled around with her kunai blades out ready for an attack. _If it's that man, I'll kill him! _She narrowed her eyes and tried to locate the one who spoke.

"Sora?" It was Sasuke.

Sora quickly noted the normal eyes and black hair. _It's Sasuke. _She relaxed a bit but did not put her daggers away. "Um, sorry about that, Sasuke." Sasuke felt a chill go up his back at the mention of his name from her lips. "How did you find me here?"

He quickly got control of himself. "I followed you," he said simply.

_You followed me..._Sora repeated him in her mind. _Are you trying to freak me out? _"Oh, uh," She couldn't think of anything to say.

"You promised me the truth. Now I'm here to get it," Sasuke said coming closer.

_Crap. I forgot about that. _Sora put her daggers away and turned to face the lake again.

Sasuke felt a little annoyed. _Why does she have to be difficult all the time? _He grabbed her shoulder and made her face him. "Tell-me-the-truth," he said slowly forcing her to look into his eyes.

Sora didn't feel angry or afraid. "Sasuke," she said softly. "If I told you the truth, would you promise me to never tell anyone else?"

Sasuke was taken aback. "Of course," he responded immediately without thinking. Sora searched his eyes. Sasuke was hypnotized. He felt the urge to kiss her, to be with her for eternity. _Her eyes…_

"Sasuke, there's something wrong with my existence," Sora said. She had felt this all along but never told anyone. "I've always been treated differently by my village than any other child. There was always something they weren't telling me. I could feel it." _Why am I saying this to him?_

Sasuke didn't say anything. He couldn't.

"The truth is that I need to find the truth about myself first," she whispered and looked down.

Sasuke followed her gaze then he felt Sora's body go cold. _What? _By instinct, he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. It felt good to be near her. "Sora," he whispered in her ear.

Sora didn't know what had happened. She felt herself slipping out of consciousness and then she felt the warmth of Sasuke's body against her own cold body. She closed her eyes.

"I need to get you back to the village and get you something warm," Sasuke said lifting her light body bridal style. He took off quickly towards her building not knowing that he was being watched.

_So he has deep feelings for her as well, _Kakashi thought as he watched the two Genins. He felt a wave of jealousy rise up inside of him. He shook his head. _They are both my students. I cannot let my emotions get in the way. _He stood up and leaped to the ground after Sasuke was a good distance away. _There's something in Sora…something so captivating that it seems as if every man who meets her falls for her at first sight. _He took off towards the village in a different direction than the other two. _This is going to be a challenge for me._

Sasuke brought Sora to her room in the academy. He laid Sora gently on the bed and brought hot water. He soaked a towel in the water and put the cloth on Sora's head. _Sora…_ He stroked her cheek. _How is it that you can walk into my life and make me fall in love with you at first sight? _He remembered one of the rules from his learning. _Ninjas are not supposed to feel emotion…does this make me weak? _He stood up and picked up the bowl of water. _But I am so in love with you._

Sora felt a hand on her cheek. She couldn't open her eyes. Not yet. Then she couldn't feel the hand anymore and felt a presence leave. _Sasuke? _she thought. She tried to open her eyes but failed again. Her body felt warm but her mind felt cold. She mustered all of her strength and managed to open her eyes on the third try. She saw that she was in her own room and tried to prop herself up. She ended up having to use a bit of her Chakra to help her sit up.

Sasuke came back in and saw that she was awake. "Sora."

She jumped a bit. "Oh, Sasuke."

He walked towards her. "How are you feeling?" He instinctively grabbed her hand to feel for warmth.

"Uh…" She didn't expect that he would grab her hand. "I'm fine. Thank you, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke's heart jumped at the mention of kun. "You're welcome," he said calmly still holding her hand. Sora didn't know what to do. "Sora," Sasuke said after a while. He couldn't look at her. "I want you to know that…" He trailed off. _What am I saying? _

"Yes?"

"I want to always be there to protect you…protect you even till death," he finished.

Sora's eyes widened. _What is he saying? _

"I sense there's something inside of you, something that you fight constantly every day," Sasuke continued gripping her hand even more. "I see your pain and I can't stand it." He pulled her to his chest and embraced her. "I love you."

Sora didn't hear the last part of Sasuke's speech. _He senses something inside of me? How? How does he know? No one else has ever… _She began to feel anger. _No, they just never told me. They kept my past from me. They kept myself from me!_ Only now did she feel Sasuke's warm body pressed up against hers. _Sasuke?_

"I love you," he repeated and pushed her down so that he was on top of her on the bed. He began to kiss her neck.

_Love? _Sora closed her eyes. Feelings swam inside her mind. _What am I feeling? Do I love him back? _She couldn't help but wrap her arms around his neck.

_Can you love him back? _another voice said in her head.

_What? _

_Are you capable of love?_ The voice had a strange vibe to it.

_Love is part of being human…of course I can!_

_Are you sure?_

She couldn't answer. Then she felt her lips get caught in a gentle kiss.

Sasuke pushed forward to deepen the kiss. His tongue intertwined with hers. _She is mine. _He wanted them to stay like this forever.

Sora turned her head and broke the kiss. She brought her hands down from his neck and placed them on his shoulders. Sasuke opened his eyes to look into hers. "Wait," she gasped.

"Sora…" He kissed her cheek and started down her jawline.

"No, I can't. I'm sorry…" She looked away.

Sasuke wanted to ignore Sora's words and kiss her forever. _No, you fool, _he thought to himself. _If you truly love her, don't force your love. Let her go for now. _He slowly got up and off the bed. "I…I'm sorry, Sora." He quickly walked towards the door.

"Wait, Sasuke."

He couldn't turn around. He opened the door and quickly closed it behind him. _If I look back now, I won't be able to stop. _He ran out of the building.

"Sasuke…" Sora was left sitting on her bed. _He kissed me so passionately…_ She put her hand to her lips and closed her eyes.

_He loves you, _the voice said again.

_Yes,_ she responded automatically.

_And do you love him?_

Sora couldn't answer. _I can't lie. I don't know if I do or not._

_Kakashi loves you as well. Did you know that_

_What? Kakashi-sensei?_

_Yes. _The voice sounded darker than before.

_No…no, he's my sensei._

_Oh, but he does love you, and Naruto, too. Do you love any of them?_

Sora began to panic. _Naruto? Kakashi-sensei? Sasuke? Stop…_

_You are irresistible._

_No! Stop talking to me!_

_You cannot help your beauty. Can you? _An evil laughter filled Sora's mind.

Finally a question struck Sora. _Who are you? _The voice laughed again. Chills ran down Sora's spine. _Who are you? _she screamed mentally.

_Me? _the voice said evilly. _Well, wouldn't you like to know. _

Sora began to feel the presence in her head leave. _What? Wait! You- _It was gone. "Wait!" she said out loud. She scared herself and looked around again. It was still her room. She let out a huge sigh of frustration and fell back on the bed. "Urgh!" _Ever since I came here, everything's so strange now. I don't even know myself anymore, do I?_

A new day came. Sora was feeling a little uneasy about meeting with the other three in her squad. She remembered what that voice said in her head. _What will Sasuke do? _She pictured them standing next to each other in an awkward silence and shuddered. _Does he think I hate him? _She recalled the words she heard yesterday.

_Kakashi loves you as well…and Naruto, too…_

She shook her head. _What does this person know anyway? _She tried to smile and laugh it off. "Hmm…" She looked in the mirror. Beautiful red hair and sparkling reddish eyes. Perfect complexion and a perfect body to go along with it. She was indeed beautiful. "Just act normal," she said to herself. "Nothing happened yesterday." She smiled to herself and started towards their usual meeting place on the bridge. _Maybe Kakashi-sensei won't be late today. _

Naruto and Sasuke were both already there when she got there. _Whoa, Naruto's early? No way! _She smiled again and forced herself to forget what the voice said to her the day before.

Naruto spotted Sora and waved, glad to avoid Sasuke. "Hey, Sora!"

"Naruto-kun!" Sora smiled and waved back. _I feel so fake…_ She reached them and looked at Sasuke. He looked away. "Good morning, Sasuke-kun," she said politely.

Sasuke started a little at Sora's voice. "Morning," he said quickly. He didn't look at her.

Naruto looked from one person to the other. _Did something happen that I'm not aware of yesterday? _

"Hello, Genins!" Kakashi said as he appeared.

"Wow! You're not late!" both Sora and Naruto said at the same time. Sora stifled a giggled. _Well, at least Naruto's normal._

"A-hem…I'm never late," he said.

"Yeah, right," Naruto said under his breath. Sora couldn't hold in this one and giggled. Sasuke remained silent and still.

Kakashi looked at him and sighed. "Well, since you guys seem so chipper today, we'll start right away on the missions."

_Great…_ all three Genins thought at the same time.


	2. Part II: Mission Number 1

Part II: Mission Number 1 

After a few stupid missions here and there, Naruto finally had enough. They were in the main room where the Hokage was overseeing the mission operation. Kakashi's team had just finished a small mission of watching some rich woman's dogs. Naruto as usual was a little beat-up.

"All right, your next mission consists of cleaning the yard, house, and lake of Mrs. Iroshi," the man sitting next to the Hokage read off of his scroll.

"What?" Naruto complained. "What is this crap?" he said becoming a little angry. "Why can't we do something exciting? Something more dangerous and important!"

"Hm?" the Hokage looked up at Naruto.

"I can't accept this!" Naruto said trying to act important. "I, a great ninja, should not be forced to do such insignificant jobs as these all the time!"

"Did you not hear my explanation of missions on your first day?" the Hokage said becoming a little annoyed.

"Of course I did!" Naruto said.

"Shut up, Naruto," Kakashi said and put his hand on his head.

"NO! I will not shut up!" Naruto said pushing Kakashi's arm off. "We need something harder! Something better! How are we ever going to get stronger by doing weak chores like these? It's been so boring! We haven't even fought with a real enemy yet, for cryin' out loud!"

Sora sighed. _He's got a point._ Sasuke also silently agreed.

"Naruto," Kakashi said sharply.

"I refuse to move until you give us a better mission! I'm not the child I used to be anymore! I'm a ninja and I'll be a hardworking ninja if you just give me the chance!" Naruto crossed his arms and sat in the middle of the room, unwilling to budge.

_I'm going to be scolded later,_ Kakashi thought and grabbed Naruto's arm. "Naruto, you-"

"Wait a minute, Sensei," the Hokage interrupted surprisingly. Kakashi let go and looked at him in surprise. The Hokage puffed a bit on his pipe while recalling the many mischievous deeds done by Naruto before he graduated. He remembered the graffiti on the faces of the Hokages on the cliff, the petty thefts of ramen from the local store, the sexy no jutsu that Naruto always used to perform… "Eh-hem," he cleared his throat at the thought of it. "All right, I'll give you and your team a chance today. I will assign you a C-ranked mission."

Naruto's eyes brightened up. "Really?"

Sora and Sasuke both felt a little more excited. _I didn't think he'd pull it off,_ Sora thought as she smiled to herself.

"What are we doing?" Naruto asked quickly getting up.

"Well, you're going to be escorting someone-"

"What? Like a princess? Or a leader of some tribe? Who? Who?" Naruto said getting really excited.

"Eh-herm…no," the Hokage said beginning to regret his decision. "He's a very important man, though."

"Important!" Naruto said with glee.

"You can come in now," the Hokage called.

A man smelling of alcohol with a bottle in his hand came stumbling in. He was middle aged, a little older than Kakashi but had a rough appearance about him. He was muscular and dark and actually pretty handsome if it wasn't for his drunkenness. "Yeah?" he said groggily while taking a swig.

Naruto's mouth fell open. "What?" Sasuke was also disappointed but held it in. Sora wasn't too thrilled either.

"You are to escort Tazuna-sama to his village in the Land of the Waves," the Hokage said. "You are to protect him until his job is complete so this might take you weeks or months depending upon the progress of his project."

Naruto's mouth snapped shut. "We get to go out of the village?"

"Hey, wut're these kids doing here?" Tazuna slurred.

"They are your escorts, sir," the Hokage said calmly.

"Escorts? Are they even ninjas?"

Naruto's eyes flamed. "What? Of course we are!"

"Well, they certainly don' look like ninjas…especially the short one."

"Hahaha," Naruto said naively. "Who's the short one?" Sora and Sasuke both walked closer to him and found that Naruto was indeed the shortest one of them all. Naruto fell over twitching.

"Don't worry Naruto. Every guy gets his growth spurt someday!" Sora said happily. She could barely keep herself from laughing.

At the sound of her voice, Tazuna looked at her. _Wut a babe…maybe this won' be so bad…_ He was obviously still drunk.

Kakashi and Sasuke both saw how Tazuna looked at Sora and both felt a wave of jealousy.

Naruto shot up with flames in his eyes again. "I'll tell you now! I'm gonna be the greatest ninja ever and then you'll see!" He began to rush at Tazuna but Kakashi held him back.

Kakashi sighed. _This is going to be hard on all of us…_

A half an hour later, they each had a backpack on full of necessities and other stuff and were standing outside the village gates. Naruto was ecstatic.

"Whoa! Wow! I've never been outside the village before!" He kept jumping around and looking at the wall of the village.

Sora smiled. Sasuke grunted. _He's so naïve... _

Tazuna was getting his hat tied on. "Well," he said. He was a little bit more sober and could basically think straight. "My country is to the southeast of here."

Kakashi looked at the sun. "Yes, we should take this path to the forest." He had been to the Land of the Waves before so the group was in good navigation hands.

As they were walking down the road, Sora began to ask Tazuna questions about his village since she had never been there. "Are there many people there?"

"No, we are a small village but we like it that way as long as it doesn't die out," Tazuna answered. He liked talking to this girl. _She's beautiful…_

"Oh, I see," Sora said with a smile. "I've been to your country before but I've never been to your village. I have heard about it though."

"Have you?"

"Actually, I think I've heard about you before. You're the famous bridge maker, aren't you?"

He was surprised that she knew that. "Yes, I am."

"Bridge maker?" Naruto asked. "What's that?"

"He builds bridges," Sasuke told Naruto bluntly and sarcastically.

Naruto went red. "I knew that!" he said. "How have you heard of him, Sora-chan?"

"Hm, well, when I was training in his country, I was in the city of Ashiba. One of your bridges is there, right?"

"That's right."

"It's a beautiful and sturdy bridge and legend has it that if you're kissed on the bridge when the tide comes in, you'll be forever united with the one you kissed," Sora said laughing.

"Really?" Naruto asked.

Sora laughed. "It's just a legend."

Sasuke couldn't help but remember his kiss to Sora. _Sora, do you even remember? _She seemed to be ignoring him the whole day.

"So have you been to like all the countries then, Sora-chan?" Naruto asked.

"Well, most of them."

_She has an advantage in that aspect, _Kakashi thought. _Youths usually don't leave their village until they are on missions like this. And she traveled for training? I wonder why she chose Konoha to complete her training._

The group had walked into the forest and was now on a dirt path. The sun was shining high in the sky. Kakashi noticed a water puddle. _Strange…_ No one else sensed a presence. Little did the Genins and Tazuna know they were being followed by two persons. Then…

The sound of rushing chains filled the air coming from opposite sides. They bound Kakashi. "Uh?" He couldn't move and the chains had blades on them.

"What?" The others gasped. Then the chains tightened and sliced through Kakashi's body. Sora shut her eyes. _Oh my god…_

Naruto was shaking. _What's going on? First battle? _Two men came out all clad in black. He was stunned with fear.

The two men glared at him. "You're next." They rushed at Naruto with the connecting chain in between them. He couldn't move.

"Naruto!" he heard Sora's voice in the background. "Move!"

_Can't…_ He was paralyzed. He was knocked to the ground by one of the men.

Then Sasuke threw a hook right in the middle of the chain. The impact was so great that it pinned the chain to a tree. Sasuke then threw a kunai to secure the chain in the tree. The two men were yanked back by the force and were stuck. "What?" they said in unison. Sasuke jumped in the air and landed on their arms. Then before they knew what was going on, Sasuke did a double kick backwards to their heads. The chain broke. "Change of plans, brother," one of them said.

"Yes, you're next," the other said to Sasuke. They pulled up their sleeve and revealed metal arms with spikes sticking out of them. Sasuke got ready but just at the last moment they veered off and sprinted towards Sora and Tazuna.

Sora saw them coming. "Tazuna-sama, stay behind me!" Sora got out her dagger. _What if I fight? Will I have to use my real power?_ The thought frightened her. _No! I must not…_ She shut her eyes and raised her dagger.

_Sora! _Sasuke jumped in front of her ready to protect her and Tazuna. "Stay back, Sora!" he yelled.

Sora's eyes shot open. _Sasuke?_

Sasuke got ready to fight as the brothers advanced but then Kakashi appeared in front of Sasuke. He punched one in the stomach and caught the head of the other in his other arm at the same time. Both brothers were stunned.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sora exclaimed with relief.

"Show-off…" muttered Sasuke.

Kakashi tied them up quickly with rope and pulled off the armor on their arms.

Naruto was still on the ground panting with a few bruises and a cut on his hand. _How could…how could I be so useless? Our first battle and Sasuke handled it with no problem. How am I so weak?_ Naruto became angry. He got up and ran towards the group. "Sasuke!" he yelled angrily. "You interfered with my plan!"

"Hm," Sasuke said and ignored him.

Naruto was enraged. "You…"

"Naruto-kun, you're bleeding!" Sora said and she rushed over to him. She felt better now that Kakashi-sensei was back.

"Yes, you'd better not move too much. Their spikes were poison-tipped," Kakashi added as he came over to Naruto as well.

Naruto sweat-dropped. "Ah!"

Sora grabbed his hand and steadied him. "Naruto, stay still and relax."

"How did you know we were following, Jounin?" one of the brothers said.

Kakashi looked at them pitifully. "It hasn't rained in quite a while and so I think it would be strange to see a puddle of water on the path, wouldn't it?" He looked at Tazuna. "I'm sorry I didn't step in sooner."

"Why didn't you?" Tazuna said trying not to act like anything was suspicious.

"Well, I needed to see who these guys were really after. Whether it was you or someone on our team," Kakashi explained.

"I…uh…I see," Tazuna said fixing his hat.

"Oh, by the way, good job to both of you, Sasuke, Sora," Kakashi said as he approached Naruto.

Sasuke didn't say anything. He was a little worried about Sora. _What's with her? She's an excellent fighter…_

Sora looked down with shame. _I didn't do anything…I don't know what stopped me. _She felt Kakashi take Naruto's hand from her. She looked up with an embarrassed blush on her face and stood. "Tazuna-sama, are you okay?"

His heart skipped a beat. "Uh, yes, thank you for protecting me, Sora, and Sasuke," he added hastily.

"Well, Naruto," Kakashi said after inspecting it. "You're going to need medical help with this. We need to drain the poisonous blood out before it gets too far in."

"We should go back to the village," Sora said shifting gears. "Naruto, will you be able to hold on for that long?"

"Well, if we go back," Kakashi said before Naruto could say anything, "it'll sure take a lot of time."

That made Naruto mad. He pushed Kakashi's hand away. "No!" He stood up. "I'll not be a burden!" He took out his kunai.

"Naruto!" Sora exclaimed.

He shoved his knife into his hand. The poisoned blood gushed out. He winced in pain but didn't make a sound. "No…" he said holding the knife in. "I will not be the weak one. I'm going to be strong and fulfill my dreams! I can't be a wimp now or I'll never learn to be strong." He was almost in tears because of the pain. "I swear…" He paused to catch his breath. "I swear on this pain that I will never rely on anyone for anything. I swear that I will be strong and fulfill my dream to become the Hokage. I can't stop now…" He looked up in a whirl of passion and pain. "I will not lose to you, Sasuke!"

Sasuke looked at him. _Interesting,_ he thought to himself sarcastically.

_Naruto, _Sora thought.

"Well, Naruto," Kakashi interjected. "You did a splendid job of removing the poison but if you keep your knife in like that, you'll die from a loss of blood."

Everyone sweat-dropped. Naruto looked down at his hand and realized the blood. "AHHHH! HELP ME! HELP ME, SENSEI!" He began to prance around in pain.

_So much for not relying on anyone for anything,_ Sasuke thought. _Pathetic._

Sora couldn't help but laugh a little.

Kakashi grabbed the frantic Naruto and began wrapping his hand with bandages. "Well," he said after he finished. "Naruto will be okay until we get to the Land of the Wave. And Tazuna,"

"Hm?" Tazuna looked up.

"I'll need to speak to you later."

Tazuna began to look away in a guilty manner. Kakashi contacted the village telling them that they needed to pick up the two brothers. He then knocked them out with a quick squeeze on the neck. "That should hold them until the others come."

Night fell quickly and they set up camp near a stream. The fire was burning brightly and everyone was sitting around it on logs. Some newly caught fish were cooking over the fire. They were all hungry. "Tazuna, we need you to tell us the truth now about this mission," Kakashi finally said.

Tazuna looked down. "Well…" he trailed off. He could feel the others staring at him. _I can't lie. _He sighed. "Here's the truth. Gatou, the billionaire who owns the largest shipping company in the world is trying to take over my village's economy. We're on an island so the sea is everything to us. I'm trying to stop his monopoly by building this bridge that connects us to the main land. He obviously doesn't want that to happen so he's been sending thugs to stop us at work when we try to build the bridge. That's why I needed to hire ninjas to protect me and my team while we worked."

"Those brothers were of the Chuunin level," Kakashi said. "Gatou is probably going to send more powerful Jounin ninjas after he finds out that those two guys failed. This is probably an A ranked mission. Why didn't you file for a higher level?"

Tazuna sighed again. "It's because our village is very poor. Even the feudal lords don't have much money so we can't afford for an expensive A or B ranked mission. We didn't have a choice." _Now they're going to leave. I knew it was too dangerous…they're just kids. _

Kakashi could sense what Tazuna was thinking. "No, we'll stay with you for no extra charge. It's the right thing to do."

"Are you sure? I mean, they're just so young…"

"You shouldn't underestimate my team," Kakashi said with a smile hidden behind the cloth that covered his mouth. "Sasuke was the number one rookie ninja for this year. Sora's a newcomer to our village and she has plenty of tricks up her sleeve. And Naruto, he's the number one ninja in surprising people." He laughed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked whining.

"Don't worry, Tazuna-sama," Sora said comfortingly. She touched his arm. "You might be surprised at our abilities." _What am I saying? _she inwardly thought. _I don't even know if I should fight…I might…GEEZ! I've got to stop thinking about that. _She knew that her words would comfort Tazuna.

"Thank you, Sora," Tazuna said touching her hand. He smiled.

_Get your hand off of Sora, _Sasuke thought but retained his collective appearance.

Naruto also felt a wave of jealousy. "Yeah!" he said loudly. Sora and Tazuna removed their hands from each others'. Sora blushed slightly and looked away. "We're the best Genin team in Konoha, ya know!"

Kakashi sighed. _Now there's Tazuna, too? Sora, you're too beautiful for your own good._ "Yes, we'll stay and finish this mission, but for now, we should all get some sleep. I'll take the first watch for the night."

The group began to get out their sleeping bags and other things from their packs. It was spring but it was still chilly, so throughout the night Kakashi kept the fire going. It was peaceful when everyone else was asleep. Kakashi sat near the fire. His eyes kept wandering back to Sora's sleeping figure. _In this mission, Sora, I don't want you to fight. You still need to go through much training before you can be in a real battle, otherwise you're powers will get out of control…like with the snake. _He thought back on the incident. Sora's blazing silver eyes…_There's something inside of you. Maybe you're not much different from Naruto. _He shifted his gaze to Naruto. _He is the demon child. The one sacrificed to seal the Nine-Tailed demon away…forever. It's cruel, yes, but necessary. _Then something struck Kakashi. He began to worry. _If Sora is in a similar situation with Naruto, Sora's powers are leaking out now…how long will it be until the demon's powers start leaking out of Naruto? Just how powerful is this one inside of Sora? I've never heard of any other demons sealed away by use of a human…_

The night drew on and nothing happened. Kakashi yawned. _It's about time. _He walked over to Naruto to wake him for his watch.

Both Naruto and Sasuke, as much as they tried, had a hard time staying awake. Sora had the last watch so she had no problem staying awake since she was basically getting up. The night sky was incredibly clear that night and she spent her time picking out constellations. The moon was waning.

When the sun began to rise, she washed her face and her hair in the stream. _This is gorgeous, _she thought to herself as she combed her hair. _The sun is rising so much more quickly now…_ She thought of how close summer was and shuddered. _I guess it can't be helped. _She turned her head and saw the four guys still sound asleep. _It's probably only 6 in the morning. _She smiled and proceeded to cook some breakfast. She put more wood on the fire and began to cook some of the food they had brought with them for the journey.

Kakashi was the first to wake up. Sora didn't notice that he had stirred. He walked up to Sora so he was directly behind her. "Good morning, Sora," he said in her ear.

Sora started and her arm hit the spoon that was resting in the pot on the fire and it was flung up in the air. _Shoot! _she thought for that split second. Kakashi caught the spoon and smiled. "Uh, good morning, Sensei," she said blushing. _That was embarrassing…_

Kakashi handed her the spoon. _She's so cute went she's uncomfortable. _"How was your watch?" he said sitting next to her.

Sora was still a little shaky from the previous incident with the spoon. "Oh, nothing happened." She started stirring the stew in the pot. "The sunrise is absolutely gorgeous though." She looked towards the sun again.

_Not as gorgeous as you are…_ "Yes, it is," he said and looked at the sunrise. The sun was casting a faint reddish glow on everything. Sora's already red hair shimmered as the sun enhanced the color. Kakashi glanced back at Sora trying his best to keep his hand from touching her hair. _So beautiful…_

Sasuke woke with the smell of the food. He wasn't especially hungry but it smelled delicious. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. He saw the backs of Kakashi and Sora sitting in front of the fire. He frowned and got up. He walked past the two and went to the stream to splash his face with water.

Sora noticed he was up. "Morning, Sasuke-kun," she said smiling.

"Morning," he said without turning around.

Sora's smile faded. _Is he mad?_

Kakashi noticed her expression change at Sasuke's behavior and made a mental note to himself.

Tazuna woke up next. He yawned and stretched loudly so Sora and Kakashi both knew he was up. "Ah, good morning, Sensei, Sora."

"Good morning, Tazuna-sama," Sora said politely smiling again.

"Hello," Kakashi said. "I hope you're rested because today we've got to cover quite a bit of walking and then boating."

"I'm as good as ever," he said standing up. "That smells delicious, by the way, Sora."

"Thank you," she said. "It'll be ready in about 2 minutes."

"I'm gonna go wash up then." He left the two as Sasuke returned. They exchanged a greeting as they passed. Then Sasuke took his seat on the other side of Kakashi but a little separated. He couldn't look at Sora.

Then Naruto finally woke up. He jerked himself up. "Ahhhhhhhhh," he said as he stretched his arms in the air.

"Morning, Naruto-kun," Sora said.

Naruto turned his head toward the sound. "Huh? Oh, hi, Sora-chan!" he said. He jumped up and went over to the group. He sniffed the food. "That smells really good…" He was about to just take some but Sora grabbed his wrist before it got too far.

"Tsk, tsk, what about manners," she said sweetly. Tazuna had returned and had taken his seat next to Sora. "Tazuna-sama and Kakashi-sensei first."

"Awww…" Naruto complained. But since it was Sora, "Fine, I'll go wash up." He meandered over to the stream.

Sora filled up some bowls of the stew for Tazuna and Kakashi and then some for Sasuke and herself. Sora and Tazuna began talking about his country again and the art of bridge making. Kakashi sat in a thoughtful silence and Sasuke was already finished. He got up. "I'm going to go train a little before we leave." With that he walked into the surrounding forest.

"All right," Kakashi said watching his disappearing figure. _He'll be all right. I don't sense anyone but us around here. _

Naruto came running back. "NOW for the food!" He helped himself to the rest of the stew since everyone else didn't want anymore and he almost ate it all in one gulp.

"Slow down, Naruto!" Sora warned him. "You're going to burn your tongue!"

Naruto put the bowl down. "Ah! That was sooo good!" He wiped his mouth and shot to his feet. "I'm ready to take on any ninja now!" He began to do some fighting stances.

Tazuna sweat-dropped. Kakashi hung his head in slight embarrassment. "Well, like I said…surprising."

Tazuna nodded in agreement.

"Where's Sasuke?" Naruto said after making some more stupid fighting poses.

"He went off to train a little bit before we left," Kakashi answered.

"WHAT?" _He's going to get stronger than me! _"I've got to go train now, too!" He began to run off.

"Naruto!" Sora said.

He paused in mid-stride and nearly fell over.

"You've got to wash your dishes!" Sora said handing him his own dirty bowl.

Naruto looked down at it. "Fine…" He marched off to the stream.

Finally the group was on the road again. Today they figured they could make it to Tazuna's village in no time. They came to a dock and Tazuna waved a boatman over. He had already made the arrangements. "Hello, Tazuna-sama," the boatman said. He seemed to know Tazuna very well.

"Hello," Tazuna replied a little nervously. "Are you willing to go through with this?"

"Yes, I'm sure," the boatman replied.

Kakashi looked at the two. _Well, Gatou does control all the water transportation to this island so this could be very dangerous._

Tazuna got in first and signaled for Sora to come next. Sora sensed the anticipation and nervousness and got in with no hesitation. Kakashi came in closely after Sora. The two boys cast the boat off and jumped in. After rowing for a while, a thick fog came over the sea. It was very quiet.

_I wonder why everything is so quiet,_ Naruto wondered to himself. _This fog is so thick…it's even blocked out the sun. _He saw the motor on the back of the boat. "Hey, hey, why aren't we using the motor?"

The boatman sort of freaked. "Ayiee! Shhhh! We have to be quiet! Gatou controls the water transportation system so if we're caught doing this, he might just send thugs to kill us. That's why I'm rowing!"

Naruto nodded. "Oh." He looked at the others. Sora was sitting with her back against the side of the boat hugging her knees. He couldn't read her expression. _Is she scared? _He looked at Sasuke. He was cross-legged with his eyes shut. He seemed to be thinking. Kakashi was looking and listening intently to the surroundings while Tazuna was also deep in thought. Everyone was silent. Naruto sighed. _How long is this going to take? _He looked behind him and saw the faint outline of something huge. "Huh?" As they neared he saw that it was the bridge. "Wow, that's huge!" he exclaimed quietly.

Tazuna looked up. "Yes, that's the bridge we're building. I hope to finish it as soon as possible but lately the construction has slowed so much. The workers are quitting for fear of their lives and I can't force them to stay. I don't blame them either."

Sora looked up to see the bridge as well. _It's strange what some people will do to get power. Why? _She looked down again. _Why attack such a small village? _She thought of her own.

"We're almost there," the boatman said. They came to a tunnel. It was pitch black but then a light could be seen at the end.

Naruto, being in the front leaned out a little to see through the fog. Then a bright burst of sunlight fell on them as they exited the tunnel. "Wow!" It was a docking area with a small tree in the middle of the water. It had spring flowers on it.

Sora looked around as well. "This is beautiful!"

The fog was completely gone and the sun was shining brightly. It was a night-day difference. "How did all that fog just stop at the tunnel?" Naruto asked.

Tazuna chuckled a little. "It is legend that a long time ago, a barrier was put in place to check the sea mist so that it wouldn't cover the island."

"Really, who put it there?"

"I don't really know but it might have been the First Kage of the Water country. He was the kind of guy who cared about everyone in his country, even a village as small as ours," Tazuna said.

"Oh." Naruto thought about the Hokage in his village. _When I become Hokage, I'm going to surpass everyone one of them in power and kindness,_ he decided. _I want to make a difference in the world…the only way is to become Hokage!_ He clenched his fist subconsciously.

_What's he thinking?_ Sora thought seeing him clench his fist. She glanced over at Sasuke who finally had his eyes open and was looking at her. Their gazes locked for a few seconds. Sora gulped and tore her gaze away.

The boat stopped at one of the docks. "This is as far as I go. Take care Tazuna-sama."

"Thank you so much," Tazuna replied. The boatman started the motor and was off. Tazuna sighed. "We're finally on the island but my house is still further inland so we still have quite a ways to go."

Kakashi nodded and they began their walk again. They soon left the docking port and were once again on a path in the wilderness. On one side there was a forest of trees, on the other, a lake that was connected to the ocean by a few streams here and there.

Naruto was getting impatient. "Where the heck is your village Tazuna-sama?" he sighed. "We've been walking forever!"

"It's only a few more miles," he answered curtly.

"MILES?" Naruto said. "Ugh…" _Fine, if we're going to be on this path for a few more miles then I have to prove to Sora that I'm better than Sasuke if any other ninja comes out. _He ran up ahead.

"Naruto?" Kakashi said.

"Hm. Hm. Hm. I sense something here!" Naruto immediately threw a kunai into the bushes. "Hah! Gotcha!"

Everyone was shocked. "Naruto! What did you hit? There was no one there!" Sora said and rushed over to where Naruto threw his dagger.

"But, I did sense something…" Naruto said.

Sora pushed away the brush and found a white snow rabbit dazed against a tree with Naruto's kunai above its head. "Naruto! You attacked a rabbit!"

"What?" Naruto rushed over and began hugging the rabbit. "Oh, I'm sorry, so sorry! Are you ok? I didn't mean to hurt you blah, blah, blah…"

Sora looked at him incredulously and sweat-dropped.

Tazuna chuckled a little at the absurdity but Sasuke and Kakashi were wary. _Hmm…a snow rabbit, here?_ Kakashi thought as he checked his surroundings. Then… "Everyone down!" he yelled.

"Huh?" Naruto said. Sora pushed him down to the ground just in time for a huge blade to wiz through the air where his head used to be. The blade struck a tree and stayed. Then a laugh.

"So," a voice said. Then a beastly looking man jumped down from his tree and landed on his blade that was stuck in another tree. "I've found you and now you'll die."

Kakashi stood up quickly. _This guy's a Jounin level ninja…wait is that? Is he? _The man had the forehead protector from the hidden village of the Mist on and his mouth and neck were covered in wrappings. He had short brown hair and an evil look in his eye. "The Demon of the Mist…" he said quietly.

"Oh, so you've heard of me, Kakashi, the copy ninja," the man laughed.

"D-demon?" Naruto said while still crouching on the ground.

"He is known as the Demon of the Mist although he is not a real demon," Kakashi answered never taking his eyes off of the man.

"Why was he given such a title?" Sora asked.

"It's because my hands were already covered in blood by your age," the man said narrowing his eyes at Sora.

"In the past, the hidden village of the Mist's final Chuunin exam was to pit two competitors against each other and let them fight until one dies, but one year, this man, who was just a small boy at the time and not qualified to enter the competition, killed every last competitor without reason or hesitation, and thus he was exiled," Kakashi explained. He pulled up his forehead protector and revealed his Sharingan. "I might have to use this."

A chill went down Sora's spine at the sight of the Sharingan. She remembered it all too well. _How powerful is this guy?_

_How does he have a Sharingan? _Sasuke thought. He narrowed his eyes.

"What is that?" Naruto said when he saw Kakashi's left eye.

"It's a special ability that's in one's eyes. It has the power to see through all the techniques and attacks," Sasuke said automatically. _But it's a Blood Line Limit ability…only my clan can have it…_

"My name is Zabuza, know it well for it's the last name you'll ever hear," the man laughed at them. "Now," He grabbed the handle of the blade and pulled it out of the tree while jumping down. "DIE!" He flew down towards Kakashi and his blade struck the ground. Kakashi had jumped out of the way just in time.

"Guard Tazuna now!" Kakashi yelled at the three Genins as he dodged another attack. The three formed a semicircle around Tazuna facing towards Zabuza and Kakashi with their kunai blades out. Kakashi whipped out his own kunai and then they began clashing metal. They struck over and over again until Zabuza leaped out of the way and onto the lake. Kakashi stood in a fighting stance ready for anything.

"I see your combat skills are as impressive as they say, Copy Ninja," Zabuza said in a mocking voice. "I might actually get some fun out of this."

Kakashi didn't respond but held his blade defensively. Zabuza began making seals with his hands and soon a thick mist rose out of the lake and covered the land. "Mist Concealment Seal. This is why he was called the Demon of the Mist," Kakashi said keeping his Sharingan on the slowly fading figure of Zabuza.

An evil laugh rose through the air. "Now you can't see me." The voice seemed to float through the air on all sides.

_Wha…what is this feeling?_ Sasuke thought. He started to shake. _This blood thirsty atmosphere of two Jounins ready to kill… _His hand slowly pointed the kunai towards himself. _I would rather die than stay here and go insane! _

Sora felt Sasuke's tension and saw him point his dagger at himself out of the corner of her eye. She grabbed the wrist of his other hand since it was nearest to her.

"Sasuke," Kakashi said at the same time.

Sasuke snapped out of his trance.

"Do not be afraid, I won't let anyone on my team die," Kakashi said. He turned his head in the slightest bit to smile reassuringly.

Sasuke's fear seemed to disappear at Kakashi's comment. He regained focus and grasped Sora's hand to tell her that he was all right.

"You don't know where I'll attack next…" Zabuza's voice floated in the air.

"Huh!" Kakashi said as the thought struck him. _He's going to attack-_ He rushed towards the group. Zabuza landed right in the middle of the circle but Kakashi tackled him in time. All four of the other people were thrown to the sides. A struggle went on for a few seconds but finally Kakashi sliced through Zabuza.

"All right!" Naruto said. He got up but then, "Huh?" Zabuza turned into water and disappeared. "What?"

"Sensei! Behind you!" Sora yelled. Another Zabuza attacked with his blade at full speed and cut through Kakashi. Sora shut her eyes and clamped her mouth shut to keep from screaming. But when she opened her eyes, Kakashi also turned into water and disappeared.

"What?" Zabuza exclaimed. Then he felt the cold steel of Kakashi's blade against his throat.

"Your time is up," Kakashi said.

"You copied my water clone technique?" Zabuza said in amazement. "Even through the mist…your Sharingan never ceases to amaze me, but you can't win that easily."

"Hm," Kakashi said and sliced Zabuza's throat.

"What?" Naruto yelled. "Anther clone?" Sure enough water came out of this Zabuza as well and disappeared.

Kakashi turned around just in time to block an attack from the real Zabuza but then Zabuza kicked Kakashi hard and he went flying.

Sora gasped. _Did Zabuza just _kick_ Kakashi-sensei away? _

Zabuza ran at full speed after Kakashi. "That's not the last of it!" he jeered at Kakashi but then he skidded to a full stop. At his feet were many tiny spikes spread on the ground. "Heh, child's play, Kakashi," Zabuza said mockingly. Kakashi landed in the lake. _Perfect, _Zabuza thought as he leaped towards the lake.

"Sensei!" Naruto yelled.

Kakashi surfaced. "What? This water feels heavy."

"Hahaha! That's because…" Zabuza put his hand above Kakashi and formed a prison of water around him. "This is an impenetrable prison," Zabuza explained. "You are trapped here for now until I get rid of your burden." He eyed the three Genins.

_Dammit, _Kakashi thought. Zabuza spoke the truth when he said it was impenetrable. "But that also means that you can't move either." Zabuza's hand was holding the water prison together.

"Yes, but he can," Zabuza pointed towards land. The puddles of water from the previous water clones came together to form another water clone of Zabuza.

_Oh, no, _Kakashi thought. "Run, now!" Kakashi ordered.

"What? And leave you here?" Naruto said. "No way!"

"He's too strong for you! If you get far enough away his water clone won't be able to follow you!" he yelled desperately. "This should have been decided the moment I got captured now go!"

"We can't go," Sasuke said. "The moment you were captured was when our decision had to be that we stay here."

"What?"

"Even if we run away this time, Zabuza will keep pursuing us and we won't have you there when he attacks," Sasuke said. "We don't have a choice but to at least try to fight."

"Yeah!" Naruto agreed.

"Oh? Being brave are you?" Zabuza mocked. Then his clone moved with lightening speed at Sasuke.

"Huh?" Sasuke said but then he was thrown down.

"Sasuke!" Sora screamed.

Zabuza stepped on Sasuke's chest causing him to cough up blood.

"What's the matter? Not so brave anymore?" Zabuza mocked.

"You," Naruto said getting angrier. "Kage Buushin No Jutsu!" 20 Narutos appeared and they rushed at the Zabuza clone.

_Kage Buushin No Jutsu?_ Zabuza thought. His clone was pushed back and was now completely covered in the Narutos. Sasuke was able to sit up as he clutched his chest. But with one huge sweep with his blade, the clone threw all of the Narutos off of himself. The Shadow replications of Naruto disappeared. The clone had also taken the forehead protector off of the real one as well. Zabuza laughed evilly. "You think you're a real ninja if you wear this?" he said. His clone threw it to the ground and stepped on it. "I bet you're not even strong enough to beat my clone who is only 10 percent of my real strength."

Naruto was struggling to get up. _Dammit, he's so strong, _he thought. _How can we win?_

Sora took her stance ready to fight. "Don't overestimate yourself," Sora spat bravely. She was about to throw a kunai when-

"Sora! Don't!" Kakashi yelled from within the water prison. "There's no point in fighting now. You've got to run!" _She can't fight without losing control, _he thought. _Sora…don't fight whatever you do!_

"Sensei, we have to save you!" Sora urged although she didn't throw the dagger. _Why aren't you letting me fight? _

"Sora, protect Tazuna," Sasuke said as he stood.

_You're not going to let me fight either…_ Sora thought. But she nodded anyway and went back to Tazuna with her dagger ready.

Naruto took this opportunity to steady himself. He rushed past Sora straight towards the clone. "This fight's not over!"

"There's no point in trying to resist," Zabuza said. His clone kicked Naruto straight on and Naruto went flying and landed hard face down.

"Naruto!" Sora screamed.

Naruto slowly got up shakily. Blood was dripping from his mouth. He wiped it away with the back of his fist and laughed a bit. In his other hand was his forehead protector.

"What?" Zabuza said.

Naruto tied it back on to his head. "Now, the real fight begins!" He rushed at the clone again.

"Naruto, don't!" Kakashi yelled.

"Naruto!" Sora yelled at the same time.

_Fool, _Sasuke thought.

"Kage Buushin No Jutsu!" Narutos popped up everywhere again. They rushed at the clone and once again covered him. But even though there were more this time, the clone still threw them all off. As the clones began to disappear, Naruto took a blade from his backpack. _This is the only way…_ "Sasuke!" he yelled as he threw the blade at Sasuke.

Sasuke caught it. _I see, Naruto, _he thought as he looked the blade over. _Not a bad plan considering it came from you. _"Fuuma shuriken," Sasuke said dangerously. The blade opened up into four curved blades creating a sort of cross shaped windmill. He jumped into the air and made some seals to enhance his strength in his arms. "Hah!" he yelled as he threw it.

"Child's play," Zabuza said. His clone easily dodged it. The blade kept going…straight towards the real Zabuza. "Huh?" He kept his hand in the water prison and jumped up to avoid being hit. "So, you were aiming for the real me this time huh? It's still not good enough."

"THINK AGAIN!" Naruto's voice said from behind Zabuza.

"What?" Zabuza turned his head. The blade had turned into Naruto. No, Naruto was holding the blade. _How?_

"Sensei!" Naruto yelled as he threw the blade at Zabuza. Zabuza didn't have time enough to dodge it completely. He let go of the prison but he caught the weapon. Naruto landed in the water. Kakashi was freed.

"Why you!" Zabuza was about to slice through Naruto but Kakashi blocked it. The blade clashed with his hand guard. Zabuza did not let go. Blood began to flow from under Kakashi's glove from the impact.

"Now, you're time is over," Kakashi said with malice in his voice.

"Hah, that's what you think. I let you go so I could have some more fun fighting," Zabuza bluffed.

"That's not true, you were forced to let me go," Kakashi said.

"Hey, it actually worked!" Naruto said.

"Naruto, I'm impressed with your strategy," Kakashi said.

"What…what happened?" Tazuna said.

"While he still had some of his Shadow clones left, he left one just long enough so that he could transform into a blade. Then he threw himself over to me," Sasuke explained. "Once, I caught him, I immediately recognized him and figured out his plan from there. Through the Fuuma shuriken, I got out my own blade and created an illusion that there was only one. I threw both the blade and Naruto as he hid in the shadow of the real blade. Once behind the real Zabuza, Naruto transformed back, grabbed the real blade, and was able to surprise Zabuza enough to release Kakashi."

"Ingenious!" Tazuna exclaimed.

_They work so well together even though they're rivals,_ Sora thought.

Zabuza glared at Kakashi. Then he closed the four blades into one on Kakashi's hand, pressing the cracked hand guard deeper into Kakashi's fist. "I'm not finished yet." The two Jounins threw each other backwards and both took stances on the water's surface.

"I didn't think you were," Kakashi said calmly.

Zabuza ignored him and ran at him with his enormous blade. Kakashi blocked with his kunai. Metal clashing against metal rang through the air. Finally Zabuza stopped attack and began to form seals. Kakashi did the same. _What? He knows my seal?_ Zabuza thought. They ended the formations at the same time. "Dragon of Water!" they said in unison. Two jets of water shot out from the lake in the shape of dragons. They began to attack each other forming a sort of water cage around the two Jounins. _How? _Zabuza thought. _His Sharingan can only copy attacks…no his Sharingan can... _The expression on Zabuza's face told Kakashi that he was beginning to slip. Zabuza made a seal and Kakashi moved perfectly along with him at the same time. It was almost like watching a mirror. Zabuza's eyes widened. "You…can't…it's not possible…"

Kakashi didn't say anything but watched him intently with his Sharingan.

Zabuza got angrier. "Heh, don't mock me," he said.

"You're only a copying monkey!" they both said at the same time.

Zabuza gasped. _What? He knows what I'm going to say? _His mental state began to deteriorate.

Kakashi quickly made more seals and yelled, "Rushing Water Barrier!"

A huge wall of water came rushing at Zabuza. The current was so strong it swept him clear off his feet and onto land. He was sucked under. _That was the attack I was going to use,_ Zabuza thought frantically. Naruto was also caught up in the current but he was not in the direct path and was able to grab onto the shore. Zabuza was thrown hard against a huge tree. The water drained quickly while he was still dazed. Then three kunai blades came and stabbed through his arms and right leg pinning him to the tree. He couldn't move. Kakashi was on a branch in the tree next to him. Zabuza looked up. "Can you see the future?" he asked his voice full of fear.

"You are going to die," Kakashi said ignoring the question. He flipped his blade and got ready to throw it. But two long needles came out of nowhere and stabbed Zabuza in the neck. Zabuza's body went limp. "Huh?" Kakashi said as he looked for the source.

A masked person jumped down from his hiding place in a tree. It was a white mask with strange markings on it and he had long black hair. "Thank you," the person said.

"Huh?" Naruto said. _Who is this guy?_

"I've been trying to get the exile for quite some time now and I couldn't resist this opportunity," he continued.

_Judging from his voice, he can't be much older than us, _Sora thought.

Kakashi jumped down as well. "You're one of the Hunter-Nins, correct?" Kakashi said.

"Yes," the boy responded.

Kakashi walked over to Zabuza's body and unhooked him from the tree. He then felt Zabuza's neck for a pulse and found none. "He's dead."

"What? How can you just kill such a powerful ninja?" Naruto yelled angrily.

The boy ignored Naruto and turned to Kakashi. "You must excuse my briefness but I must go and dispose of the body, it holds too many secrets," he said.

"Of course," Kakashi said as he put away his kunai.

The boy came over to the body and hoisted it on his shoulder. "Thank you again," he said. Then he formed a seal and disappeared through a veil of screeching wind.

"Wait!" Naruto yelled. He ran up to the spot where the Nin disappeared. He was fuming. The Nin was gone. "No," he said as he fell to his knees. "Dammit, dammit, dammit!" he swore. With every word he punched the ground as hard as he could. His knuckles began to bleed. "How can he be so strong? We don't even measure up to him! We had such a hard time with Zabuza and he could just kill him so easily?" Naruto ranted. Sasuke thought the same but hid his feelings.

Kakashi caught Naruto's fist before it came down again. "Naruto, this is a fact of life," he said calmly. He let go of Naruto's hand and it dropped to the ground. "There are some people in this world who are just more talented in the art of the ninja." He covered his Sharingan and looked to the sky. "There are some who are younger than you," he continued, "with greater Chakra than me."

Sasuke's eyes widened. _I've been stuck in Konoha and there's so many more powerful people out there…_ He became angry.

Sora looked at the three from a distance. She was still with Tazuna. She had seen the Nin and felt Naruto and Sasuke's distress. She had had experiences with those geniuses of the ninja art. She knew about the powerful anomalies in the different places that she had gone to. She did not think of herself in this way but her powers, her real strength, also put her into the category of a genius herself. _But I shall never use them, _she thought. _I can't control my own powers and in that way I am weak._ She looked down. _I understand, Naruto. I've been through so many situations where if I could've used my real powers, I wouldn't have had to suffer through so much, but I couldn't. I see others going to their maximum and keeping perfect control over their bodies…and I'm jealous…_

"Well," Kakashi broke the silence. "We should probably get going otherwise we'll never get their." He took a step. Pain shot through his entire body. He was paralyzed and started to fall to the ground.

"Sensei!" Sora exclaimed and ran to him as fast as she could. She slowed his fall and he slumped over on her lap.

_Sora?_ Kakashi's eyes closed.

"What…what happened to him?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know," Sora said. She knew he was still breathing at least.

"He must have worn himself out by using his Sharingan too much," Sasuke said matter-of-factly. "If you put your body through too much stress from your Chakra, it will collapse and you might actually die."

_Really? _Sora thought.

"We've got to get him to my house as soon as possible then," Tazuna said in a hurry. "Who knows who else that Gatou might send."

Sora nodded her head in agreement and the guys carried Kakashi as fast as they could the rest of the way to Tazuna's house.

It was morning the next day when Kakashi finally woke up. _Where…we must be in Tazuna's house,_ he thought as he opened his eyes for the first time. _I hope everyone's okay. _He tried to sit up but felt a stab of pain through his body and collapsed back on the mattress. Then the door slid open showing Sora coming in with fresh bandages. She didn't see that he was awake. "Sora?"

Sora started and almost dropped the bandages. "Sensei!" She blushed from slight embarrassment. "You're awake!" She knelt down beside him. "How are you feeling?" She saw the blanket was only covering his lower half. "Did you try to get up?" she asked in alarm. "You shouldn't do that! You could kill yourself if you overexert your body! Don't scare us like that-"

"Sora!" Kakashi finally said. "I'm fine, really." He looked straight at her to calm her down. "Just calm down."

Sora sighed. "Give me your hand," she said after shaking her head.

_She is cute, _Kakashi smiled to himself. He lifted his hand.

Sora removed the old bandages and proceeded to wrap his hand with the fresh ones. "Sensei, you really did have me worried…" she trailed. She didn't look at his face but concentrated hard on his hand.

Kakashi liked the feeling of her delicate hands touching his calloused skin. He looked at her worried face. "Hm…"

"What?"

"Huh? Nothing," he said with a smile then he felt her remove her hands. She was done wrapping. Disappointment washed over his face. He looked at his hand.

"I'll go get the others," Sora said standing up with the old bandages in her hand. "Don't try and get up, ok?" _He's just like a big kid…_ She sighed.

Kakashi laughed. "Sure." Sora left and closed the door behind her. Then a thought hit Kakashi. _Hm…_ he thought. _Something's not right._ He thought back on his battle with Zabuza. _That Nin…it's strange…_ He heard pounding footsteps in the hallway outside the door.

The door whipped open and Naruto ran in. "Sensei! You're finally awake!" Naruto almost shouted.

"Naruto!" Sora said exasperated. Sasuke came in quietly after and then Tazuna and a woman.

Kakashi tried to sit up again and succeeded. "Why, hello," he said to the woman.

"Sensei, you really shouldn't move," the woman said. "You need to regain your strength."

"Of course," Kakashi said.

"Oh, Sensei," Naruto said. "This is Tazuna-sama's sister, Tsunami-sama."

He nodded his head.

"Thank you, though for saving Tazuna," Tsunami said. "Who knows what would've happened to him if it weren't for you and your team. I'm sorry it was so troublesome."

"Not at all," Kakashi said. "But…" He trailed off. _Zabuza…_

"Sensei?" Naruto said. "What's wrong? Zabuza's dead right so there's nothing to be worried about right?"

"Hmm…no," Kakashi said with certainty. "Zabuza is still alive."

Everyone gasped. "But, that Nin," Sora said. "He killed Zabuza didn't he? You checked him yourself."

"Yes, but a number of things are very strange," Kakashi said.

"Like what?" Naruto and Sora said at the same time.

"First, the Nin used very acute weapons that have a low fatality rate, the needles," he explained. "Only a very precise hit could kill a person with those weapons and it is very likely that the Nin only put Zabuza into a near death state. Secondly, the Nin also took Zabuza's body away to destroy it even though you usually destroy the body on the spot and Zabuza's body was a lot heavier than the Nin himself. You only need to bring back the head as proof."

"Maybe you're thinking too much about it," Tsunami said worriedly.

"I don't think so," Kakashi said. "Once a ninja has a bad feeling, he must react on it quickly or else it might be too late. Zabuza is still alive."

Sasuke knew it to be true as well. "We can't defeat him again in this state," he said calmly.

"You're right," Kakashi said. "I'm going to have to put you guys through some training to get you ready to fight. We've got to start today." He attempted to get up but failed.

"Sensei, you can't, you're still injured!" Sora said kneeling next to him and putting her hand on his arm.

"Sora, don't worry. Once I get up I'll be fine. Now help me," he said covering her hand with his.

Sora sighed. _Why is he so stubborn? _She glanced at Naruto and Sasuke.

"All right! I'm going to beat you in training this time, Sasuke!" Naruto was yelling at Sasuke. Sasuke had his eyes closed apparently not listening.

_Why are they so stubborn?_ "Fine…" she said still not totally convinced that Kakashi would be ok. She took Kakashi's arm and wrapped it around her shoulders and used some Chakra to lift him up to his feet. He was shaky at first so Sora kept his arm around her to steady him. "You've got to at least use crutches," Sora said.

"We have some downstairs," Tsunami said. "I'll go get them."

"All right," Kakashi agreed. _Maybe I'm not as ok as I thought I was…_

Then a young boy entered. "Inari!" Tazuna said.

"Who are they?" Inari asked bluntly.

"They're the ninjas I hired," Tazuna said cautiously. "Uh, meet my nephew, Inari," he said to the group.

"Hello," Sora said smiling. The others nodded.

"It doesn't matter if you train or whatever, you know, cuz it won't make a difference," the boy said frowning.

"Inari!" Tazuna exclaimed.

"No matter how strong you are, Gatou's always going to hire more and more ninjas to fight for him so why don't you just go home?" With that Inari stomped out of the room.

"Geez, what's his problem?" Naruto asked getting angry.

"Don't mind him," Tazuna said quietly. "He's been like that ever since Kaiza was killed by Gatou's men."

"Kaiza?" Naruto asked.

"He was Inari's step father," Tazuna said. "But, I'll tell you about that later, you've got to go and train now right?"

"Uh, right," Naruto said. He looked to the door. _Strange kid,_ he thought.

After a few more minutes the three Genins and Kakashi were out in the forested area near the town where Tazuna lived. "So what kind of training is it?" Naruto said excitedly. "Is it some powerful new technique? Or maybe it's some new strategy, huh?"

"No," Kakashi said happily. "I'm going to train you in the basics of Chakra so that you can use your Chakra to its full extent and your attacks will be better in general."

"What? We can already use our Chakra," Naruto complained. "Why do we need to learn the boring stuff?"

Kakashi sighed. "Sora, if you may?"

Sora faced the two boys. "Knowing the basics of Chakra helps to control it," she said. She pulled out a scroll that held pictures and explanations. "Now listen up cuz I'm going to explain quickly, ok?" She unrolled it and held it up for them to see. "First, Chakra as you know is the spirit energy in our bodies. In order to form attacks, you must combine the Chakra with your body energy and mold it into the different elemental attacks. Different elements require different ratios of Chakra to body energy. In order to use the minimum Chakra for the maximum output, you must control how much Chakra you use, where in your body you use it, and how much you mold it together with your body energy. Every person has a certain amount of Chakra but it needs to be trained and brought out little by little with bodily exercise and practice of the usage of Chakra. Using too much or too little Chakra for an attack will lessen the strength of the attack and waste energy as well." She snapped up the scroll and smiled.

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto said waving his hand. "It's not like we actually need to know that stuff in order to use it."

"It is true that we can use Chakra attacks without the knowledge behind it," Sasuke added more to himself than for the good of the group.

Sora just smiled and shook her head.

"Ok then," Kakashi said. "This exercise is just using your Chakra and stationing it in your feet. They say that Chakra is hardest to maintain when put at the feet. Then you have to climb a tree."

"Climb a tree?" Naruto said.

"Yes, without your hands. Just your Chakra in your feet," Kakashi said. "Like so." Using his crutches he walked slowly over to the nearest tree and focused his energy in his feet. Then he walked right up the trunk of the tree, still using his crutches.

"Wow!" Naruto said. "That looks easy."

"Be careful," Sora said as she saw Naruto concentrating his Chakra in his feet.

"Easy!" Naruto said.

Kakashi was standing upside down on a branch of a tree way up high. "Give yourselves a running start since this is your first time."

"Here I go!" Naruto yelled as he ran full speed at the tree. "AHHHH!" He ran two steps up the tree and fell back to the ground landing on him back. "Dammit…" he cursed sitting up and rubbing his head.

Sasuke concentrated his Chakra and ran to the tree next to Naruto's. He made it ten steps up then his foot cracked into the tree. _I see, so if you overuse your Chakra…_ He flipped backwards and landed safely on the ground. _But if you use too little…_ He looked at Naruto rubbing his head.

"Hey guys!" Sora called from another tree. "Up here!" She sat on a very high branch waving at them.

"What?" Naruto yelled in disbelief. "How did you...? You couldn't have…? Grrr…"

_She is adept at using her Chakra,_ Sasuke thought. _She's even stronger than I thought. _He couldn't help but feel a little jealous.

"I guess the know-how is important," Sora said smiling cutely. She walked over to the edge of the branch and jumped onto the side of the trunk of the tree Kakashi was standing on. She continued to jump back and forth towards the ground in a graceful and easy manner. She landed with one knee on the ground with no sign of tiredness.

"Oh-ho!" Kakashi said. "It looks like Sora is the closest to becoming Hokage now and maybe the Uchiha clan isn't as great as I thought it was."

"Hey!" Naruto yelled. "You blah, blah, blah…"

Sasuke cringed and kept his mouth shut but clenched his fist.

"Sensei!" Sora said looking a little worried at the two boys. _I hope they don't hate me now._ She shot a glare at Kakashi who just shrugged and smiled mischievously.

"Before you do it again, use these kunai blades to mark where you can go up to and each time, make a new mark. Hopefully every time you do it, your next mark will be higher than your last mark," Kakashi said as he threw down the three blades.

Each Genin picked up a kunai and concentrated on their Chakra again. Then they took off. Sora got all the way to the top of her tree and balanced herself in the swaying wind. She could see over the forest roof and over to the town where the bridge was being built. _Wow, what a view!_ she thought. _I wonder how the others are doing._ She jumped down to a lower branch and saw that Sasuke had taken 13 steps this time. Naruto had only taken 5. _They're not concentrating on their own progress…they're getting distracted by each other,_ she sighed. She jumped from branch to branch to get lower and lower until she finally just jumped to the ground again.

Kakashi was also on the ground as well. He walked up to Sora. "Sora."

"Yes, Sensei?"

"I'm guessing you've already been trained in these sorts of exercises and are an excellent manager of your Chakra," Kakashi said.

"Well, I have done similar exercises before," Sora said looking towards the two boys. Naruto was on the ground swearing and Sasuke was beginning to breathe a little harder.

Kakashi turned towards them. "You two keep going until you reach the fifth branch," he instructed them.

_I can't let Sasuke win! _Naruto thought. He jumped up and put his hands together to concentrate on his Chakra.

_Fifth branch? _Sasuke thought. _Why am I so bad at this?_ _I can't let Naruto get any closer._ He concentrated on his Chakra as well.

"Now Sora," Kakashi said turning back to her. "I'm going to make you go through some special training now."

"Special?" she asked.

"Yes," he said. "Let's walk." He began to walk deeper into the forest.

Sora looked after him. _What training? _She followed.

After they were out of earshot from Naruto and Sasuke, Kakashi began. "Sora, I've noticed that when you are in training, you are able to control your powers and use them to perfection." Sora's eyes widened. "But when you are in a real battle, you hold back and almost refuse to fight at all. It's almost as if you're afraid of your own power."

_How does he know?_ she thought in fear.

"You might not remember this fight but I watched when you trained with Naruto," Kakashi continued. "There was a snake and for some reason your powers got out of your control." _I won't mention your slight transformation…_ He could see the fear and anxiety in her eyes. "You must get over this fear, this handicap. You've got to learn how to control this power of yours."

"I…never had a problem with this before," she said quietly. _But then again, I've never really _fought_ anyone before…_

"Before?"

"The last time I remember having a black out and then nightmares following was when I was very young…" She was unknowingly thinking about the time when her adopted father allowed her to fight the beast that was attacking her village. "I don't even know what happened. Now these black outs are coming more and more often ever since I came to Konoha."

_Hm…_ Kakashi thought. "Nevertheless you must learn to control it," he said. He quietly made a clone of himself come from behind Sora.

Sora's eyes widened as she sensed the clone's presence. She dodged a brutal slash from the clone's kunai. "Sensei?"

"Fight as if your life depended on it!" he ordered her.

"What?" she said in alarm as she dodged another attack. The clone slashed through a tree and it fell to the ground with a crash.

"Don't dodge, fight!" Kakashi said. He was controlling his clone's every move. The clone ran forward and threw two star knives at Sora. She retaliated by throwing two of her own. They clashed and fell to the ground in front of Sora, but Kakashi's had smoke tags on them and a thick cloud of smoke erupted from the tags. Sora couldn't see.

_What is he thinking?_ Sora thought as she got out her kunai for defense. Then the clone came out of no where taking Sora by surprise. "What?" She was barely able to dodge the lightening fast attack. Her sleeve was shredded but she was unharmed. _Too close,_ she thought. _He's really serious about the life depended on it thing…fine I just have to-wait! What if…? But this is part of the training! No! It's too dangerous. I've got to get out of this smoke. _

She leaped as high as she could into the air but she sensed the clone nearby. Then their blades met. Sora had blocked another brutal attack by the clone. She jumped onto a tree branch out of the smoke's range. _Where?_ She crouched on the tree branch ready for anything. Then, "Hah!" she jumped down onto the tree truck and ran up the trunk with just her feet. The clone had cut through the entire branch that Sora was on and it went crashing down to the ground. The clone then jumped to the tree nearest to Sora's and went running up the trunk after her. Sora skidded to a halt. _It's the only way! _The clone also skidded to a stop. They jumped from their trees and clashed blades in the air then each landed on the opposite tree. They both quickly turned around and repeated the action. All of this was happening faster than the eye can see.

_What kind of clone is this?_ Sora thought as she clashed again and again. _It's too strong to be a Shadow replication…even a Water clone…_ Then Sora got the idea to change the situation. She conjured up some Chakra blew a powerful gust of icy wind at the clone on the next clash. She allowed herself to land on the ground. _I missed!_ The clone was nowhere to be seen.

Then she saw a fireball coming straight at her. "Ah!" She dodged it but then she saw star knives coming from all directions. She made an energy shield to protect herself since she saw the exploding tags on the knives. The knives hit and exploded. The ground beneath her feet collapsed from the shock and Sora was taken under. _Shoot! I'm trapped! _She saw that she was going to lose if she didn't think of something fast.

"Sora, I know you're holding back," came Kakashi's voice from somewhere above her.

_I can't…_ Sora thought. _There's got to be another way out of this!_

_I need to make this harder,_ the real Kakashi thought as he watched from a distance. He made 9 other clones using up most of his Chakra. _These clones take up so much energy, _he thought as he panted a bit. _But I've got to get used to it._ The nine other clones jumped into the dust and smoke.

Sora was in the ground waiting. _He'll find me sooner or later,_ she thought. _I've got to think of something._ Then she felt the ground shake around her. _He's found me!_ A hand grasped her shoulder. She winced in pain and felt herself being pulled up from the ground. She focused her energy and made the dirt swirl violently around her. The hand let go but she was exposed. She got out three star knives and stood still waiting for the dust to settle. The she saw them. _One, two, three…ten! _She was surrounded.

"Sora," the real Kakashi called. "Don't hold back. If you're afraid then you won't be able to survive this."

"What?" The ten clones of Kakashi all began forming the same seals simultaneously. _What is that?_ They finished and then extended their arms forward with their hands in a binding seal.

"Prison of Vines!" they said in unison. Their hands began to glow as vines shot out from them. They were enclosing her inside. There was no escape.

_What? I know this attack! I can't believe Kakashi-sensei can do this!_ Sora thought. _These vines have poisonous needles…one hit and I'm dead._ "What are you trying to do?" she yelled angrily. "KILL ME?"

_Sort of,_ Kakashi thought. He chuckled. _I have confidence in your will to survive, Sora. You won't die. I just want to see your true power._

"Shoot," Sora said as the vines closed in on her.

"Attack!" Sora heard the Kakashis say.

"Dammit…" Sora said under her breath as the vines began to swell. Then they shot their needles from all directions straight at Sora. _He_ is_ trying to kill me!_ Then she felt a presence.

"Sora, let me out…"

"Who's there?" she said. She looked around herself and found that she was standing in a swirling mass of darkness. "Where am I?" Then she saw a shadow approaching her.

"Sora," the shadow said. "You don't have a choice now, do you?"

An evil laugh filled her mind. "No, stop! You...I can't let you out! My promise…"

"Screw your promise!" the shadow screamed at her. "Do you want to die now? In training?"

Sora clutched her head. The scream was so piercing. She felt her mind shake and her ears ring. "Who are you? Why are you inside of me?"

"I…am you," the shadow said. Then it transformed into a mirror image of Sora except this one looked purely evil. "Your will is stronger than I thought it would be when I created you."

"Created?"

"I've been trapped in here for who knows how long-"

"But-"

"But I've already set my plan into motion by bringing that Uchiha into the picture-"

"Huh?" _Sasuke?_

The shadow laughed. That same evil laugh. "No." Then she ran at Sora.

Sora couldn't retaliate. "NO!"

Kakashi saw Sora's eyes open in a flash of silver. _It's begun._

Sora raised a hand and stopped all the needles in midair. They dropped to the ground. Then she lowered that same hand and held it out palm up. A silver fire formed.

_She's not even forming seals. This…this isn't Chakra…it must be some other form of energy,_ Kakashi thought. _Where is she getting this?_

Sora closed her hand and the flame shot out in five directions at the vines. The vines were immediately disintegrated and their ashes fell to the ground. Sora kept her hand closed and the five silver flames each split once and engulfed each of the ten Kakashi clones. They disappeared in a flash of lightening.

The dust settled and the real Kakashi saw Sora still standing there but with her hands to her sides. Her hair had streaks of silver in it and her eyes glowed. "Now, it's your turn."

Kakashi's eyes widened. "Sora?" He saw her face him. _This…intent to kill? I might have gone too far. _

"Now it's his turn," the evil voice said to Sora.

"No!" Sora said weakly. She was exhausted from the ongoing inner battle she was having with her clone but now she was being held down by her other self and couldn't move. Her body was covered in gashes and bruises. Blood was everywhere.

The evil Sora turned towards her. "You think you can stop me?"

Sora clenched her teeth. "If you're so powerful, then why don't you just kill me and take over completely?"

It was the evil one's turn to clench her teeth. She narrowed her eyes. _I don't have the power to yet…_she thought to herself. _That boy needs to go faster…she might get too strong for me to be freed…_

"I will stop you!" Sora said. She used what felt like her remaining energy send a pulse of Chakra outwards from her body. It was just strong enough to push her clone back. Sora stumbled to get up but then immediately ran at her clone while forming a seal. "Got ya!"

"What?" the shadow said. _Where did she get this power?_

Sora thrust her seal she had made into the chest of her shadow aimed for the heart.

"NOOOO!" she screamed.

The noise pierced through Sora's head. It took everything she had to not remove her hands to cover her ears. The sound caused a powerful force to fly back at Sora and it started cutting her skin even more. "Ahhh!" she yelled in frustration but refused to let go.

On the outside, Kakashi watched closely but was ready for anything. He saw Sora's eyes glaze over then she screamed and fell to the ground and was motionless. "Sora!" Kakashi abandoned all caution and hobbled as fast as his crutches would allow over to Sora's still body.

_Sora!_ Sora heard Kakashi call her name.

"Kakashi?" She was even more determined to finish her seal. _Sensei!_

"Where? Where are you getting this power?" the shadow gasped as it turned back into its formless state again.

"You," Sora snarled. "You didn't make me! You don't control me and here's the proof!" She used all of her remaining energy to spread her seal throughout the shadow's body.

"AHHHH!" the shadow screamed as it melted into the abyss.

Sora closed her eyes and felt her surroundings change. She felt the warmth of someone close to her.

Kakashi watched as her hair turned back to its normal red but he also saw numerous wounds appear all over her body. She moved slightly. "Sora!" he said as more injuries appeared. "What happened?" he asked himself out loud.

Then Sora shot up gasping for air. She turned to the side and coughed up some blood. _I can't breathe!_ The blood was choking her.

"Sora!" Kakashi held her up. He used a knife to cut through the back of Sora's already tattered outfit. Her bare back was exposed with lashes and cuts all across it. He took off his glove and put his bare hand on her back. He focused his energy and let a small portion of his remaining Chakra flow into Sora as strength.

Sora calmed down as she felt new strength enter her body. "Kakashi-sensei?"

_I see now,_ Kakashi thought as he pulled Sora back towards him and wrapped his arms around her from behind. Sora was still breathing pretty hard. "It is too dangerous for now, Sora."

Sora couldn't help but lean her head back on Kakashi's chest.

"You must promise me that you won't fight no matter what," he said seriously. _Even if it means that one of us dies…it's too dangerous. That energy I felt, it's not human._

"I…" she couldn't speak.

Kakashi picked her up. "I need to get you back to the house now to treat your wounds." He used all of his remaining Chakra to transport himself and Sora to the house. He could hardly stand because his strength was almost all gone but he knocked on the door and Tazuna answered.

"O my god!" Tazuna exclaimed as he saw the two of them. "What happened?"

"I'll tell you later but now we've got to treat Sora's wounds," Kakashi said as Tazuna took Sora from him. He stumbled into the house and just barely made it to a chair.

"I'll go get Tsunami," Tazuna said hurriedly as he put Sora on the couch.

The day past and the boys still hadn't come home. Tsunami had taken care of Sora's wounds and they were all bandaged now. Her arms were wrapped as were her legs. The only scratch she had on her face was on her left cheek so when she put on her ninja dress, it didn't look like she had too many injuries. Amazingly Sora could walk and was pretty much normal. She walked into the kitchen where she heard someone cooking.

"It's been so long since we've had guests over for dinner," Tsunami said to herself. "It's nice." She noticed Sora. "Oh, Sora, how are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm fine," Sora said as she walked up to her. "Where did Sensei go?"

"He went out," Tsunami said. "He's pretty stubborn. I told him not to go but he refused to listen." She sighed. "Tazuna also went out."

"Oh," Sora said. The boys weren't back yet and Inari was nowhere to be found. "Can I help you?"

"Oh, no thank you," Tsunami said smiling. "You should be resting. It looks like you had enough work for today."

Sora smiled hesitantly. _Where is everyone else?_

Naruto and Sasuke were still trying to climb the trees. Sasuke had gotten to the third branch while Naruto had only gotten half way past the second. Both were tiring and dirty. "Dammit! Why is this so hard?" Naruto complained.

Sasuke said nothing. _He's catching up…_ He wiped his mouth. _I've got to get better!_ He concentrated on his Chakra again.

Naruto saw him. _Again?_ He immediately got up and focused as well. _Well if he's going for it, I can't wimp out now!_

Both of their eyes shot open and they ran forward at the same time. "AHH!" they both shouted at the top of their lungs as they ran up the tree trunks. Upon almost reaching the third branch, Naruto lost his footing and began to fall. _SHOOT! _He made his mark and fell to the ground but landed on his feet.

Sasuke kept going and made it one step higher than he did the previous time. He made a mark and landed safely on the ground next to Naruto. _I'm tiring…and he's getting closer every time. How much stamina does he have?_

Naruto caught Sasuke staring at him. Their eyes met and locked into an electric stare. _I won't lose to him! _they both mentally yelled. They jumped up and started again.

The sun had set and the moon shone through the night sky. Kakashi and Tazuna had come home from working on the bridge. "How are you feeling, Sora? You looked like you were gonna die back there," Tazuna said with a worried expression on his face.

"Oh, I'm fine, thank you," she answered and smiled at this comment. "Dinner is ready for everyone now."

"Uh, yes, dinner," Tazuna said. "I'll go wash up then." He left Kakashi and Sora alone in the room.

Sora looked down.

"Sora," Kakashi said. "I'm sorry that I put you through that." He walked up to her without his crutches and lifted her head.

Sora looked into his visible eye. "Sensei?" she began.

"Yes?"

"I…I'm not strong enough," she said.

"No-"

"Yes, listen," she interrupted. "I can't even fight on this mission and…I'm just a burden." She turned her head and began to walk away.

"Sora," Kakashi said.

She stopped but didn't turn around.

"You aren't weak," Kakashi said. "and you're not a burden. I see now the kind of power you have within you. It's not normal Chakra that's for sure but it affects your mental state when exposed to a battle. You can control it but then something like what happened today would happen again and…I can't let that happen to you."

Sora bit her lip.

"Promise me, that you won't fight on this mission," Kakashi said. "I swear I will protect you and everyone here with my life."

She nodded unable to speak without crying then left.

_I swear,_ Kakashi repeated to himself.

Two empty seats were kept for Naruto and Sasuke when they returned for dinner. Inari was there but he didn't say anything to anyone. The adults were talking leaving Sora to her thoughts. _I can't let Naruto and Sasuke know, _she decided. _Act normally when they come…act normally._

Naruto and Sasuke had finally both reached the fifth branch and both were completely out of breath but they refused to move until the other did. Finally after looking at the moon, Sasuke spoke. "Let's get back."

Naruto smiled and nodded in agreement. They had to support each other as they walked back to the house but they finally made it. They opened the door and walked in dirty and panting.

"Naruto, Sasuke!" Sora said standing up.

They two boys fell backwards from exhaustion.

Kakashi looked over. "It looks like you finally made it to the fifth branch," he said in his normal lazy way. "Come eat a bit so you can regain your strength."

Naruto looked up smiling. "I've been waiting all day for dinner!" He jumped up with amazing energy and sat in his seat next to Sora who was on the end of the table. Sasuke got up and sat on the other side of Sora opposite to Naruto and they began chomping down food as fast as they could.

Sora looked at the two in disgust. "You should really eat slower…"

Then they both stood up and held up their bowls. "SECONDS!" they both said. Then they sat down suddenly and turned from the table to throw up.

Sora put down her spoon. "If you two are just going to throw up your food then you shouldn't eat at all!"

"No," Sasuke said as he wiped his mouth. "I'll eat."

"Yeah," Naruto said doing the same.

Sora sighed. "I don't get you two…"

After they were finished eating, Tsunami made some tea and they sat at the table talking. Finally they got on the subject of the situation of the small island village. "The people here are so poor and Gatou is stopping our economy in its tracks," Tazuna said. "It hasn't always been like this though. This village was once a great flourishing village, but after Kaiza was killed-"

Inari immediately got up and left. "Inari," Tsunami said standing up immediately. "Inari! Tazuna, I told you not to talk about him in front of Inari!" She left the room following Inari.

"So, what happened?" Kakashi asked.

Tazuna sighed. "Kaiza wasn't Inari's real father," he began. "After Inari's real father died, he got really attached to Kaiza. He began to follow him around everywhere and do whatever he did. Kaiza was a wandering fellow before he settled here. Strong, kind, smart, and he cared about everyone. Tsunami married Kaiza and Inari immediately accepted him as his father. Kaiza was sort of the hero of this village and everyone looked up to him while Inari…well, I guess you could say he made Kaiza his hero. Then Gatou came along and found out about him and how he was the village's stronghold and hope. Kaiza spoke out against Gatou openly and Gatou used this to arrest him. His men tortured Kaiza in front of the public and killed him." Tears began to form in Tazuna's eyes. "Inari lost all hope after that," he continued. "I guess he thinks that if Kaiza couldn't defeat Gatou's men, then no one can. The village lost hope too and the people became desolate after Kaiza's death. Now this bridge is our only hope but Gatou is intent on stopping it." He clenched his fist and slammed it on the table. "I want to complete this bridge and restore this island to what it once was. The people need a hero and Kaiza was that hero, but now that he's gone…" He shut his eyes tightly trying to hold back tears.

"I see," Kakashi said.

_Hm… _Naruto thought. Tsunami came back in the room with a helpless look on her face. She silently began to wash the dishes again. _I'll go see what's up, _Naruto decided. He got up and went towards the door.

"Naruto?" Sora questioned.

"Hm? Oh, I'm just gonna go to bed now," he lied. "See ya in the morning." He left.

Sora sighed and looked over at Kakashi who didn't seem to notice Naruto's behavior. _I hope he doesn't do anything too brash,_ she thought.

Naruto went up the stairs towards Inari's room. He heard crying.

"Father…" Inari's voice came through. Naruto heard him choke up with tears. He peeked through the crack in the door and saw Inari sitting on his window sill holding a picture of Kaiza. The tears were flowing freely down his face.

Naruto looked away and went into his own room to sleep.

When morning came, Naruto woke up unusually early to train before anyone else. _I'm going to beat Sasuke today! _he thought as he dressed quickly. He ran out of the still quiet house and into the woods. The sun was just beginning to rise and the moon was still shining brightly. He reached the clearing he and Sasuke had been training in the day before and looked up at the trees. "I will reach the top today!" he said out loud. He stretched and did a few warm ups and then he focused his Chakra.

A few hours later, Naruto was still training but he was being watched by Inari. _Why does he do this? He can't beat Gatou no matter how hard he tries. He should just give up!_ He looked at Naruto angrily. _He's not a very good ninja to begin with either._ Inari turned and began to walk away but,

"Hey!" Naruto said suddenly noticing Inari's presence.

Inari froze.

"What are you doing here so early?" Naruto asked.

Inari turned around. "Me? What are _you _doing here so early?" he lashed out. "Why are you training when you know that you can't beat Gatou's men? Why do you do this to yourself?"

Naruto looked at him angrily. "Cuz I'm not a quitter, that's why!" he said. "I don't just hide my problems behind a sour face and a bad attitude. I don't go to my room and cry cuz I can't help myself. I'm past that and I'll never give up becoming Hokage ever! I believe in myself."

"Looking at you makes me sick!" Inari yelled. "You'll never become Hokage!" He turned and ran away crying.

"Hm," Naruto said. He didn't care what that kid felt about him. "I'm past that…" he repeated to himself. He focused and began to train again.

Sora woke up feeling sore all over her body. She could hardly move. _Shoot,_ she thought. _How am I going to get up?_ She tried shifting to her side but her body wouldn't move. _Come on!_ she yelled at herself. _They're going to definitely notice if I don't come down for breakfast. _She tried to conjure some Chakra but couldn't. Her body would not work no matter how hard she tried. Then she heard footsteps in the hall. They stopped at her door. _Dammit!_ _Could this day start any worse?_

"Hey, Sora," Sasuke called from the other side of the door.

"Uh, yeah, hold on a sec," Sora called. _Come on, come on!_ She finally was able to shift to her side. _Now if I could just slip off…_

"Are you ok in there?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah! Just a moment," Sora said. Her feet touched the ground and she stood up wobbling as she gripped her bed post. She was panting but she forced herself to walk to the door. She slid it open just enough for her head to get through. "Yes?" she said trying to make herself sound normal even though she was sweating and panting.

"Uh," Sasuke said surprised to see her in that state. "They sent me up to get you for breakfast."

"Oh, uh, thank you," Sora said beginning to close the door.

"Are you really ok?" Sasuke asked again stopping the door.

"Yes, I'm fine," Sora lied with a smile. _I'm such a bad liar. _By the expression on Sasuke's face, Sora knew he didn't buy it."I, uh, I'm just a little bit sore from yesterday's training, that's all," Sora added quickly. _Please go away…_

"A little bit sore," Sasuke repeated slowly with a raised eyebrow.

"I'll be down in just a-" She cut herself off just when her legs gave way from under her.

Sasuke threw open the door and caught her before she hit the ground. "A little bit sore, huh?" he said again.

Sora turned red with embarrassment. She couldn't say anything.

"Uh-huh," Sasuke mused as he picked her up. He noticed the bandages on her arms and legs. "What did Kakashi do to you yesterday?"

"Nothing more than what he did to you guys," Sora said turning her head being stubborn.

Sasuke put her on her bed. "You know, you're a really bad liar," he said sitting next to her.

Sora's face flushed. "Sasuke, I need to change and wash you know!" she said trying to shove him off the bed. "You can't stay in here!"

Sasuke inwardly smiled. "Fine," he said getting up but grasping her arm. "But you've got to come down in ten minutes or I'm coming up to get you."

"What? Ten minutes?" Sora said trying to free herself.

"Ten minutes," Sasuke said and finally let her go. He walked out of the room and gently closed the door.

"Ten minutes," Sora grumbled as she gritted her teeth. "Who does he think he is?" She focused her thoughts. _I've got to use my Chakra today or else I'll-_ She focused hard and finally got some out. She used it to strengthen her legs to allow her to walk over to the bathroom connected to her room. "Ten minutes," she muttered again.

Ten minutes passed and Sora was changed and washed but was having a hard time walking to her door. She was almost there when she heard Sasuke's footsteps again. _Shoot…_ She tried to force herself to run but couldn't. Her door slid open and she looked up but didn't see anyone. "What the?" She felt two arms snake around her waist from behind. "Sasuke!" she yelled.

"Ten minutes," he said calmly picking her up.

"Jerk!" she hissed. He was unfazed. "Put me down now! I can walk!"

"Not until you tell me what happened," he said walking out of her room.

_Why does he always do that? _Sora thought in frustration. _He always takes advantage of my condition to force me to tell him things…_ "No way! You should put me down because this is not appropriate and-"

Sasuke dropped her legs and pinned her against the wall. His face was dangerously close to hers. "Just tell me." He forced her to look at his eyes. Sora's eyes widened. He grasped her arm and brought it up in between them. "How did you get these injuries?"

Sora began to breathe harder. "Please," she said trying in vain to break free.

"How?" Sasuke said pushing her harder against the wall.

"I…I…" She didn't like Sasuke being so close to her with no one else around. "I just hurt myself trying to use some of my techniques, that's all." _It's true…_

Sasuke looked deep into her eyes. _She's so stubborn._

"Hey, Sasuke, Sora," Kakashi's voice came from downstairs. "Breakfast is getting cold and we need to start training soon."

Sasuke sighed and released Sora. He turned his back to her. "Can you walk?" he asked simply.

"Huh? Uh, of course I can," Sora said. She took a deep breath and used her Chakra to make herself walk. _This is going to be a tiring day if I have to use my Chakra for just basic things like walking…_

The two finally made it down the stairs and sat down at the table. Sora was panting slightly from the effort she made to walk. Kakashi noticed but didn't say anything to Sora and resumed his conversation with Tazuna. Sora ate in silence and refused to look at Sasuke or Kakashi. Then she finally spoke. "Hey, where're Naruto and Inari?" she asked Tsunami.

"Oh, Inari's in his room and Naruto I think is training in the woods," she replied.

"Training?" Sora said. _His stamina surprises me to no end. _

_Training? _Sasuke thought. He finished his meal quickly and stood up. "We should go now."

"Oh, yup," Kakashi said stretching as he got up. He didn't need crutches anymore. "We certainly should, but Sora?"

She finally looked up at him. "Yes?"

"Why don't you stay here for today and rest," he said. "You should be fine by tomorrow."

"Oh, ok," she said. _Whew!_ she thought with a mental sigh of relief.

"I need to take care of some business today but I won't be going to the bridge so I won't need any assistance," Tazuna said. He smiled at Sora. She smiled back gratefully.

The three left Sora and Tsunami. "I think I need to go back to sleep," Sora said feeling very tired from her Chakra use.

"Oh, go right ahead," Tsunami said smiling. "You did go through some nasty training yesterday."

"Thank you," Sora said. She sighed as she got up. _Now for the journey back…_

Once in her room, Sora flopped down on the bed. Her eyes closed and she immediately fell asleep.

_Now's my chance,_ the shadow said. She left Sora's sleeping body in spirit leaving Sora unable to wake up until she returned. With that she transported herself away. _Uchiha, Uchiha, where are you? _she asked herself with a wicked grin on her face as she raced through space and time. _There!_ She appeared over Itachi's sleeping form and reached out a hand. She touched his head and was transported into his dreams.

"Who's there?" Itachi demanded. He wasn't scared. He wasn't sacred of anything anymore. "Come out," he commanded.

"Uchiha," the shadow said. She looked like Sora.

"It's you!" Itachi said. "All this time of torturing me without your presence…" He reached out to her but couldn't touch her.

"Itachi…"

_Why can't I touch you?_ he thought desperately. _Am I not strong enough yet?_

"Please," Sora said. "I need you…"

"But I…I can't even touch you," Itachi said.

Sora smiled sadly. _He isn't strong enough…not at this level…he needs more power.__He needs the Nine-Tails' power. The one who sealed me away can bring me back to life…_ "You need more power."

Itachi winced. "So I'm not strong enough…"

"Get the Nine-Tails' power and make it your own. You must have the power stronger than anyone in this world. You must have the power of a god!" the shadow of Sora said. She reached out to Itachi. "Please…" She began to fade. "Please…"

"Wait!" Itachi reached for her. "No-" He woke with a start. He was covered with a cold sweat. He clenched his fist in anger. _I'm not strong enough!_ he said to himself. He got up and left in a rush.

The shadow rushed back to Sora's body. _He's so gullible,_ she thought. _He fulfilled my curse and destroyed his own clan for me and now I'm going to destroy both him and his brother!_ She laughed evilly to herself.

Tsunami decided to let Sora sleep and rest instead of waking her for meals. _She needs it, _she had thought. _Who knows what Kakashi put her through…_ Finally the men came home.

"Dinner is ready!" she said.

"I'm so hungry!" Naruto said sprinting in to his seat.

"I think we all are," Sasuke said coldly. The training had been especially tough that day.

"Well, you've got to wash up first," Tsunami said looking at how dirty they all were.

"Fine," Naruto said in his complaining voice. He went for the stairs.

"Oh, and Sensei," she said.

"Yes?" Kakashi paused.

"If you think it's ok, Sora is still asleep so maybe you could wake her up for dinner," she said.

"Sure," he said and went up stairs.

_Asleep? _Sasuke thought. _Kakashi had better not done anything too serious to her._ He followed up the stairs.

The two boys went into their rooms and began to wash and Kakashi went into Sora's room. He walked up to her sleeping figure and sat on the bed next to her. "Hey, Sora," he said lightly shaking her.

She stirred and her eyes fluttered open. "Oh, Sensei?" she said groggily.

"Did you want to come down for dinner?" Kakashi asked.

"Uh," Sora said. She was still incredibly sore. "Sure."

"Hm," Kakashi said.

She tried sitting up but she was so sore she couldn't. "Ow…"

"Here," Kakashi said offering his hand. "Let me help you." She nodded and gave him her hand. _It's so soft…_ he thought as he pulled her up to him. _So slender and beautiful. _Her smaller hand fit perfectly into his larger calloused one. He wanted to pull her into a tight embrace and feel her whole body. Feel the smooth glowing skin under her clothes that he only dreamed of touching. Taste her delicate lips and…_peeerrrvert…_ He snapped out of it and helped support Sora as she stood up. She put an arm around his neck unaware of what thoughts he held. It was almost too much for Kakashi as he felt her arm on his neck but he refused to give in.

It took all of Kakashi's energy to get Sora down to dinner without touching her in any sort of sexual way. He wanted to so badly. _Dammit Kakashi,_ he told himself. _She's taking over your mind._

They all finally sat down and began to eat. Inari was quiet as usual and Naruto was chatting away about his training to Sora. "Then I made it to the top of the tree!" Naruto finished.

"Really?" Sora asked. "In just two days?"

"Yeah!" Naruto said proudly. _But Sasuke did too…grrr…_

"That is impressive," Sora said smiling.

Inari couldn't stand it anymore. He got up. "It doesn't matter! Not a bit!" he yelled bitterly.

"Inari," Tsunami said.

"You can't be stronger than Gatou!" he shouted beginning to cry. "You'll never defeat his men! There's no way, not even with your pointless training!" Tears streamed down his face.

Naruto looked at him. He focused his gaze.

"You don't know what it's like to lose someone so close to you!" Inari sobbed. "If you did then you would see that everything is pointless in this world!"

"Shut up," Naruto said quietly. "You don't know what you're saying. I've got confidence in myself unlike you. I've got people I love right here and I'll protect them with everything I've got. I'm not a crybaby like you!"

Inari looked at him angrily than he ran out of the room.

"Naruto," Sora said in shock. "Don't you think that was too harsh?"

"Hm, well he was spying on me during my training this morning," he said simply and stood up. "I'm going now, ok?" He walked out of the room and shut the door behind him.

_Naruto,_ Sora thought. _Those two are similar though…Inari thinks that there's no one in this world he can rely on anymore and Naruto…well, he never had anyone to rely on to begin with…I guess he's just past the denial and tears._

They all agreed that it was late and they needed to rest. They went to their rooms but Sora took a slight detour. She went out to the balcony and found Inari sitting with his legs dangling over the edge. The others were already in their rooms. She smiled and walked over to him. "Hey, can I sit here?" she asked. Inari nodded but didn't turn around. "Inari," she said softly. "Naruto's not trying to be mean to you." Inari sniffed and shuddered slightly. "You two are very similar and I bet he knows what you're feeling."

"How could a jerk like him know what it's like to have no one to count on?" Inari choked.

_It's just as I thought,_ Sora thought. She put a hand on Inari's arm. "He's never had parents like you have and he's never been able to rely on anyone before. I bet he tells himself what he told you today over and over again. He's gotten past the point of crying because he tells himself that he has no other choice but to be strong and move on in life."

Inari's tears began to flow down his face again. "Sora," he whispered. He was shaking violently. Sora pulled him closer and hugged him tightly. Inari couldn't help but weep in her arms. "I'm so sorry," he said.

"Shh," Sora said still holding him. "It's ok. You've got to be strong within yourself and protect those around you. Isn't that what Kaiza did?"

Inari looked up at Sora. "Yes."

"He set a good example and-"

"-he would want me to follow it," Inari finished for her. "Yeah, I've gotta be strong." He wiped his face.

Sora stood up and helped Inari up as well. "Let's go to sleep, ok?"

"Yeah," Inari sniffed. "Thanks, Sora." Sora smiled and the two went back in the house.

Sora walked Inari to his room. "Goodnight, Inari," she said smiling.

Inari turned suddenly and gave Sora a hug. Sora was shocked at first but then she hugged him back. After a few seconds Inari let go with tears in his eyes. "Yeah," he said wiping them away. "Night." He went in his room and Sora shut his door.

She turned to go to her room and suddenly felt incredibly tired. _What?_ She put her hand on the wall for support. _Why am I so tired all of a sudden?_ She forced her body to move. _Just a few more steps…_ She reached her room and went straight for her bed without closing the door. Her energy was gone. She collapsed on the bed without covering herself and closed her eyes to a dreamless sleep.

In the middle of the night Kakashi woke up. _Something's wrong,_ he thought and got up pulling his pants on. He was too worried and in a rush to put on his shirt. He ran silently out into the hall and saw Sora's door open. _Sora!_ He quickly ran to her room and entered. He saw her lying half on the bed without covers. She was shaking. He picked her up. _What's happening?_ he thought. Her body felt cold as ice. It made him shiver. He put her under the covers but she still shook violently. Then she spoke.

"It's cold…" she said.

"Huh?" Kakashi started. _Is she awake?_ "Sora," he said grasping her hand.

"So cold…" she said again. She was not awake.

He shook her lightly trying to wake her. "Sora," he said again. "Wake up!"

Sora just trembled more violently. She didn't wake up.

_This might look bad…_ Kakashi thought as he lifted Sora and moved himself under the sheets. He sat against the wall on the bed and brought Sora up on his lap. He pulled the blankets over them both and wrapped his bare arms around her shaking body. _…but it's necessary._ He held her close. _I need to stay in control, _he thought as he wrapped his legs around hers. _This is only because it's necessary._ Sora's shaking began to decline but she still felt freezing cold. She breathed out heavily. Her breath was filled with ice crystals that disappeared in the air. "Sora," Kakashi whispered in her ear. "I won't leave you, just hang on."

Kakashi fought to stay awake the entire night. He found himself thinking about Sora and himself in certain situations. His hand had somehow found its way underneath Sora's shirt and he subconsciously stroked Sora's stomach. It was so smooth and soft. _Such a perfect body…WHOA THERE, she's my student, HELLO? _It took all he had to keep himself from moving his hand up. He jerked himself fully awake. _Ah, the Icha Icha Paradise is getting to me. Got to keep conscious…_ he told himself, but soon he finally couldn't take it anymore.

He slipped down so that he was lying on his side with Sora's back against his chest. He wrapped one arm around her stomach so she was lying on top of it and protectively covered her chest area with the other arm placing his hand on her shoulder. He pulled her even closer to his own body. _Just for warmth…yeah right…shut up._ He put his head right behind hers almost touching. He couldn't help but intertwine his legs with hers. _If someone saw this right now, it would look very bad indeed, but it's not,_ he reasoned with himself. _You're sad, you know that?_ _No I'm not._ _You can't lie to yourself. It's not a lie. It is. No, it's not._ _Yes, it is. NO! YES! NO! YES! NO! YES! FINE! YES, I LOVE HER!_ He held her even tighter. _I love her._ He pulled down his mask. _Sora… _He leaned his head forward. _I love you._ His lips met her neck. The taste was addicting. He couldn't stop. _I love you!_ He brought her down so she was lying on her back and he moved himself on top of her.

_Luckily she's asleep,_ his conscience told him. _Otherwise you wouldn't be alive right now. Will you just shut up and let me enjoy this?_ He had waited for this moment where he could finally touch her the way he wanted to. He wasn't going to let his conscience ruin it. He was glad Sora was asleep but at the same time, he wished that she would wake up and return his kisses. He moved his head down and kissed the crook of her neck gently but then more passionately. He made a trail of kisses up her neck to underneath her chin.

He heard a soft moan escape Sora's lips but she was still asleep. The sound made Kakashi heat up. He put his hand back under her shirt and he began to push it up but he didn't dare touch her breasts or kiss her lips. He was also careful not to leave bruises or anything suspicious behind. _Sora, if only you knew…_ he thought as he continued to worship her body, _how much I love you._ He finally closed his eyes and even remembered to put his mask back on before he fell asleep with Sora under him.

Hours later, the sunlight spilled over the tops of the mountains and Sora stirred. She half-opened her eyes and saw a blur. All she could remember was feeling extremely cold after talking with Inari but she felt fine now. Well, she felt someone on top of her. _What?_ She turned her head and saw a sleeping Kakashi incredibly close to her face. _Did he…o my god,_ she thought all at once. She gasped and tried to sit up causing Kakashi to wake up.

"Huh?" he asked no one groggily lifting his head.

"Sensei!" Sora whisper-screamed. "Did you…?" Her eyes went wide with disbelief.

Kakashi shot up fully awake and quickly got off her. "Sora!" he exclaimed quietly so as not to wake anyone else in the house up. "It's not what you think!" _Uh, yeah it is._ _I thought I told you to shut up._

"What?" Sora still whisper-screamed. "You just…slept with me!" She tried to scoot away from him noting that he didn't have a shirt on.

"Listen," Kakashi said grabbing her hand. She tried to pull away. "Sora, I sensed something in the night and I came to check on you and you were freezing. Your body was like ice and I…I couldn't just leave you there!"

"You could've woken me up!" she said while still struggling to get loose.

"I tried to," Kakashi said pulling her towards him to keep her from struggling. She fought back but finally Kakashi pinned her against the wall. "If I left you, you probably would've-"

"Why didn't you get Tsunami-sama?" Sora said still freaked.

"Huh?" He hadn't thought of that.

_I don't believe this, _Sora thought. _Is he just a caring teacher or a pervert?_ She didn't know what Kakashi had done with her during the night.

_Crap…_ Kakashi thought. In truth he had wanted ever since he met her to do what he did with her and then some. _Idiot,_ he told himself. _Now she's going to think I'm a pervert…well, you are,_ his conscience told him. _Not again_…_You already admitted it, she's the one. What? She's the one in your dreams. She's the one you can't stop thinking about. She's the- SHUT UP!_ Kakashi let Sora's arms go. He looked away in embarrassment.

Sora noticed his change of expression. _Sensei?_ She remembered what that other voice inside of her told her. Kakashi loves you as well…_Does he? Do I? _She gulped. "Sensei, I'm sorry," she started.

Kakashi turned around surprised. "What?"

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have mistrusted your words," Sora said. _He's my sensei for crying out loud! I'm not going to give into that other voice…_

_I…you…I can't take this,_ Kakashi thought. _She has every right to be mad at me and now she's apologizing because I'm her sensei?_ He felt a pang in his heart. _Does this mean she doesn't love me? Of course not, you're her sensei, duh…_ His conscious was back. Kakashi clenched his fist. _But I love her. Now's not the time, just take it and wait,_ his conscious urged him. _Fine._ "Sora," he said. "What I did was inappropriate and-"

"No, you're my sensei," she interrupted him. "You were just doing what I needed in that condition." _He's my sensei,_ she repeated to herself.

_I'm just your sensei…_ Kakashi thought depressed inside but he kept his cool outside. "It still doesn't excuse me from my actions," he said as he stood up rigidly. They heard the morning bell. "I should go." He turned and left the room closing the door softly behind him.

Sora clutched her head and bent over to lean on her elbows. She was frustrated. "Arg!" she yelled softly to herself. After almost pulling out some hair she got up and went to take a bath. _I need to relax…_ Then she stopped. _Wait,_ she thought looking around. _Something's different._ She looked at her arms and legs. They were completely healed. Her pain was all gone. "This is impossible," she said out loud holding up her arm. _I must be going crazy!_ She ran into the bathroom and turned on the hot water. _Bath, bath, bath…_she thought. _I'm going insane!_ She stripped herself and looked in the mirror. Her body was back to normal. No scratches, bruises, scars, or anything, just her normal body…her perfect body. Her skin had a healthy glow and looked smooth as silk. Her curves were exactly proportioned and her toned muscles were in mint condition. She never really "appreciated" her body as much as other girls would have if they had her form. All she saw in it was that it attracted too much unwanted attention. She sighed and got in the tub. The water was steaming and it felt like heaven. She dunked her head in the water and began washing her hair.

After 20 minutes she was out of the bathroom dressed and ready to eat breakfast. Everyone else was already down eating when she came. "Hello," she said softly. Everyone looked at her in shock except Kakashi who was trying to act normally.

"Sora," Tazuna said with wide eyes. "Are you feeling all right?"

"Huh? Uh, yes," she said uncertainly.

"Your injuries," he said. "They're all gone! And you can walk!"

_So it's not just me,_ Sora thought.

"What?" Naruto said. "What injuries? I knew she was tired from training but I didn't know about any injuries! Sora, are you ok?"

_If you had looked at her with an observant eye you would have seen all those bandages, idiot,_ Sasuke thought. He caught her eye. _I need to talk to her. _

"I'm fine, Naruto," she said after breaking her gaze with Sasuke. She sat in her seat in between him and Sasuke. She wasn't particularly hungry but she forced herself to eat.

"You should've told me!" Naruto said crossing his arms.

"I didn't want you worried when you've got your training to do," Sora said quietly. "I'm sorry."

Naruto was taken aback. "No, I didn't mean it that way, Sora," he said quickly. "It's just…" he trailed off.

Sasuke got up. "We should go," he said.

"Yes," Kakashi said apparently back to normal. "You two still need to work on your control of Chakra, but Sora?"

Sora looked up. She tried to keep her expression calm. _It's not fair that he's totally unaffected by this! _she thought bitterly.

"I think you should go with Tazuna to the bridge today," he said. He knew that Zabuza was still not strong enough to attack by any means. _I need to get my mind off of her,_ he thought. _It's not fair that she's unaffected by this…_ He got up and signaled the two boys after him.

Naruto followed blindly not noticing the tension in their voices. "Be careful ok?" he said to Sora.

She smiled weakly.

Sasuke definitely sensed the tension. _Kakashi, you'd better not have done anything to her, _he threatened in his mind. He turned and left.

Sora and Tazuna left for the bridge soon after. Once at the bridge, Tazuna got straight to work. Sora offered to help but Tazuna was still skeptical on her physical condition. He wouldn't allow her to help so Sora was stuck watching the construction. A few hours after midday and lunch break, Tazuna finally called the group of about 20 men together to announce that they could go home for the day. The men began to leave. When Sora and Tazuna were about to leave, one of the men came up to Tazuna.

"Uh, Tazuna-sama," the man said nervously.

"Yes?" Tazuna said.

"Uh, I don't think I can come back anymore," he said looking down. "I'm sorry!"

"Huh?"

"It's just, it's been said that Gatou's going to come with more of his thugs and kill us all if we don't stop working on this bridge!" the man pleaded. "Please, stop with me! You're going to get killed if you don't!"

Tazuna looked down, his hat covering his eyes in a shadow. "I can't…"

"Tazuna," the man interrupted. "Please!"

"I'm sorry," Tazuna said quietly. He turned to pick his pack up. "You don't have to come back tomorrow. I understand."

"But-"

"Goodbye," Tazuna said and walked away. Sora looked at the man who was staring in disbelief at Tazuna's retreating figure. She felt sorry for him, for them all. She turned to catch up to Tazuna.

Once they were in the small town near the port, Sora ventured to speak. "Tazuna-sama?" she said quietly.

"Yes?"

"That man really does care for you," she said cautiously.

"I know," he said sighing. "I don't blame any of them for quitting. I know their fears and it is a dangerous job. But _I_ can't quit now." He tightened his hand. "It's this village's last hope and I'm Kaiza's brother!"

Sora fell silent. _These poor people…_she thought. _Why do things like this happen to such good people? _

"Tsunami wanted us to buy some more food for tonight," Tazuna said. He stopped by a market and went inside.

Sora followed and was shocked at the sight inside. There was almost nothing on the shelves. Just a few vegetables here and there and they didn't look healthy. "So little," she said. "Why is there so little?" Her heart ached for the people here.

Tazuna grabbed some vegetables and other necessities. "We can't grow a lot of our own food here on the island. The soil isn't rich enough so we had to rely on imports and our exports to get food. Now that Gatou controls the water transportation, we can't get our food without paying a huge tax and we already don't have much money." Tazuna paid for the food and left.

Sora began to follow but then she felt a hand near her butt. "Eh?" she gasped and then immediately turned around and kicked a man hard across the face. "PERVERT!" she screamed.

The man crumpled down on the ground. "I'm not a pervert…" he said while twitching. He had tried to steal some things out of Sora's pack that was hanging on her side near her butt.

Sora didn't hear him and walked away with a huff. "What's with these people?" she said exasperated.

Tazuna chuckled lightly at her outburst. _What a fiery girl!_ he thought.

Then Sora felt another hand clutching her dress from the back. _AGAIN!_ She dangerously turned around ready to smack anyone there but then she saw a little girl. She was thin and dirty and she smiled up at Sora with her hands out. "Give?" she asked.

Sora looked at her and tears began to well up in her eyes. She wiped them with the back of her hand and dug out some candy which was all she had in her pack and gave them to the little girl.

The girl smiled happily and her eyes lit up. "Thank you so much!" She ran off to share with her family and friends.

Sora sniffed and wiped away more tears.

Tazuna put a hand on her shoulder. "These kids deserve better," he said beginning to feel tears in his eyes as well. "The adults have gotten so hopeless and that affects the kids." He began to walk again. "That's why I need to finish that bridge."

Sora nodded and walked with him back to his house.

Naruto and Sasuke separated for their training and Kakashi was off somewhere doing something. Sasuke was focusing on walking on water. It was a lot harder than the tree exercise but he was quickly getting the hang of it. Naruto was still working on not running out of energy upon getting to the top of the tree. Since Sasuke had passed that portion of the training and Kakashi had given them different exercises to work on.

_Why is he always ahead of me? _Naruto thought angrily. Then he felt a presence. He turned around and saw Inari. He smiled slightly with amusement. "Heh, what do you want now?"

Inari gulped a little. "I, uh, just wanted to say that…" He couldn't finish it.

"Yeah?" Naruto said walking up to him.

"Uh," Inari stuttered. "I…I…I'm sorry, ok?" he blurted out. Tears began to well up again.

"Huh?" Naruto was surprised at Inari's behavior. "Hey, it's ok."

Inari shook his head. "No," he choked out. "I want…I want to be strong too! I know the only reason why I hated you was because you could believe in yourself and I couldn't believe. That's what Kaiza would have wanted me to do, but I'm too weak." He began crying.

Naruto looked at him and then put a hand on his shoulder. "No, you're not weak," he said smiling. "You're strong! I mean, it takes a lot of strength and guts to apologize to someone."

Inari looked up at him through his tears. "But I'm a crybaby."

"Well, it's ok to cry at first," Naruto said. "I've been there. You've got a lot of strength in there and now is the time to use it!" He patted his head.

Inari forced himself to stop crying. "Yeah."

"Now you should probably get home," Naruto said looking up at the sky. "It's getting dark."

"What about you?" Inari asked.

"I've got to do more training," Naruto said putting his hands behind his head and smiling. "A hero's always got to make sure he's in top notch shape!"

Inari smiled. "Yeah!"

"Now, you really should go before it gets too dark," Naruto said with a friendly shove.

"See ya," Inari said running off waving back at him as he went.

"Yeah, see ya later." Once Inari was out of sight, he focused his Chakra again. _I can't slack off anymore! _He sprinted up the tree. _KEEP GOING! _he told himself. "AHHH!" he yelled. He made it to the top but then he had to fall back to the nearest branch. He was exhausted. "Dammit," he cursed while breathing heavily then he suddenly felt tired. _What? I already used up all my Chakra?_ Naruto was planning to stay out all night if need be. He couldn't stand anymore. _What's going on?_ He lost his balance and began to fall. _I'm going to break my neck if I don't…_ He forced himself to jump back and forth from tree to tree as he fell to slow himself down. He landed safely but he was completely out of it. He collapsed on ground and his eyes closed.

Soon everyone was back at the house except Naruto. Dinner was over and Tazuna, Tsunami, and Inari had all gone to bed. Sora wanted to stay awake a little while longer to just sit and look at the stars on the porch. Kakashi also wanted to stay out a little longer. Sasuke wanted to talk with Sora in private but couldn't with Kakashi still there so he stayed up with her. Sora was sipping a cup of tea as they were all relaxing in the night air. It felt peaceful here in comparison to the town near the port with the poor people and children. Sasuke was sitting next to her sharpening a knife with a rock he had found and Kakashi was behind them with his hands in his pockets leaning against the house. He was silently looking at Sora. Then she broke the silence. "I wonder where Naruto is, I mean, it must be almost midnight and he's not back."

"Don't worry about him," Sasuke said moving the rock across the curved blade. "He said something about training all night if he had to." _And it seems like he had to,_ he smirked inside but concentrated on his blade.

"Really?" Sora said. _He's so dedicated,_ she thought. _He's going to seriously kill himself one day. _She smiled and shook her head.

Kakashi was silently thinking the entire time. _If Zabuza attacks,_ he planned, _then I need to protect Tazuna and Sora because she shouldn't fight. But I can't let him know that she can't fight because he'll target her. And that Hunter-nin…I wonder what he can do. Sasuke will be ready to face him…but what about Naruto? He's getting behind._ Finally he decided that he needed some sleep. He looked at the two Genins and a wave of jealousy washed over him. _I shouldn't be jealous,_ he thought trying to calm himself. He glanced at Sasuke putting away his blade and tossing the rock into the night. _No, I should leave them…this will show Sora that I'm not a pervert…but you are. Shut up._ He turned to go in the house. "You two shouldn't stay up too long," he said casually. _You'd better not try anything on Sora, Sasuke,_ he thought as he remembered the night before.

"We won't," Sora said putting down her empty cup.

_Finally!_ Sasuke thought.

"Good night," Kakashi said and went inside.

"Night," Sora replied.

Sasuke felt Kakashi's presence leave. He was about to say something when,

"Sasuke-kun, you wanted to talk to me?" Sora said.

Sasuke wasn't surprised. He knew that she could sense his tension. "Sora," he began. An image of him lying on top of her on her bed kissing her came to his mind. "I…I'm just worried that's all." He rested his arm on his knee and refused look at her. "What happened to you the other day?"

Sora didn't want to tell him that she had lost control over her powers. _I'm so weak,_ she thought. "I told you, it's just training." She tried to look like she wasn't lying but failed again.

Sasuke couldn't keep himself in control anymore and suddenly pushed her down on the porch. He put an arm on either side of her and moved himself on top of her. "Sora, I'm tired of trying to figure you out. Something's wrong and I can feel it." He ran his fingers through her silky red hair. "I can't stand to see you in pain anymore. You torture me!" He lowered himself even closer to her and touched his forehead with hers. "Please." He moved his head slowly to the side and began kissing her cheek moving his way down.

Sora gasped and began to worry that Sasuke would do something they both knew he shouldn't. "Sasuke, please, get up." She pushed him away but he brought her up with him and she ended up in his arms. "Sasuke-"

"Sora, don't," he whispered in her ear. "Don't push me away. I'll die."

She couldn't tell if he was absolutely serious or just in the spur of the moment. She felt his arms bringing her closer. She felt his lips caress her neck. She felt his heart beating faster. She felt his pain. _And I'm the cause of this?_ she thought to herself. "Sasuke, I'm just…" she paused shaking a little, "I'm just sorry for causing you this pain." She pulled away a little not meaning to break his embrace. She put a hand on his chest over his heart and looked at it not wanting to see his reaction. _I know if I tell him that he should just forget about me, I'd cause him more pain. I don't want that. I really do care for him it's just…I don't want to lead him on. But love? I don't understand._ She wanted him to be happy but she didn't know how to show him she did.

Sasuke grasped her hand with his over his heart. _Does she understand my pain? Does she know how much I love her?_ Then Sora surprised him and herself by lifting the other hand to touch his face. He stared at her, his eyes filled with confusion.

She tried to look deep into his eyes. _I sense something tomorrow. Something terrible is going to happen. Sasuke, you need your strength. I don't know what else to do._ She leaned forward and gently brushed her lips against his but pulled back quickly. Sasuke was so shocked he couldn't move. His heart was racing. Sora stood up letting Sasuke's arms fall back to his sides. "We should go in," she said.

"S…Sora?"

"You need rest," she continued.

"Did you just-"

Sora reached down and pulled him up. "Just get rest." He was about to say something else but she put a finger to his lips. She looked straight at him with her mystifying eyes. He became lost in them and couldn't speak. Sora took his hand and led him up the stairs to his room. She led him to his bed and pushed him to lie down. She covered him with his blankets and leaned over him one more time. "Good night," she said.

Sasuke finally managed to get over his shock and said something. "Sora?"

_He needs his strength for tomorrow, _she thought. She touched his face stroking it softly. "Sleep now and revitalize your body. You're tired and anguished with your worries. Forget them as you close your eyes." She gently closed his eyes with her fingers. Sasuke wanted to pull her down under the covers and have her next to him all night. He almost did until he felt her pull away suddenly. She walked over to the door and slid it open. "Good night." She left and the door closed behind her.

Sasuke opened his eyes and sat up. He couldn't believe what had just happened. _Did she _kiss_ me?_ he thought as he touched his lips. His mind flashed back to when they were still outside and she had leaned in surprisingly. He had felt her soft lips on his own. A chill went down his back. Then he fell back into his pillow truly smiling for once in a very long time. His eyes closed and he fell to a dreamless sleep.

Sora made it back to her room in silence and she closed the door. Then she fell to her knees trembling. _Why? _she asked herself. _Why did I kiss him?_ She hugged herself to keep from shaking. _Do I love him? _

_What is love?_

_No, he just needs this rest for tomorrow._

_What about Kakashi?_

_Kakashi…_ She snapped her eyes open. She felt guilty. _Am I leading them on? Both of them? They're going to hate each other._ She stood up shakily and made it over to her bed. She crawled in and covered herself with the sheets. _What about Naruto? I hope he's ok. There's something that's going to happen tomorrow for everyone. I can feel it._

Naruto had fallen asleep in the forest where he had been training. Morning came and the sunlight fell gently on his face. It was still very early and he was sound asleep, but then he felt someone shake him. He stirred and slightly opened his eyes.

"Hey," Naruto heard a voice say.

He fully opened his eyes and sat up rubbing them. "Huh?"

"Are you ok?" the person asked.

Naruto looked over to who was talking. It was a girl with long black hair and pale skin. She was dressed in some sort of dress with flowers on it and she was very pretty. Naruto couldn't help but blush even though he knew that Sora was much prettier.

"Are you ok?" she asked again.

"Uh, yeah," he said sheepishly putting his hand behind his head and smiling.

"What are you doing out here so early in the morning?" the girl asked.

"Oh, I'm training!" he said proudly. He fixed his hair so that she could see his forehead protector. "I'm a ninja!"

"Oh," she said. "Well, you look strong already."

"Really?" Naruto said getting excited.

"Why do you need to train then?"

"To become stronger!" Naruto said automatically. "My goal is to become the Hokage in my village. I've got to train every day if I want to see that happen."

"Really?" the girl said. She went into a flashback to her childhood. She was wandering the streets for food, orphaned and alone. It was snowing like it always did in her village. A dog came up and growled at her when she found some food in the trash dump. She kicked the dog and went on to find a place to eat. She was starving too. Her life was miserable and didn't seem to be worth living. She contemplated suicide but something kept her from doing it. Then one day, a man came up to her on a bridge and took her with him. This man took care of her every need and brought her up, trained her, and now she was fighting for him. She snapped back to reality. "I think when a person has something or someone important to protect that is when he becomes truly strong," she said quietly. "Do you have someone important to you?"

"Huh?" Naruto looked into her eyes. He thought of Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke. He thought of Sora. He closed his eyes in a smile. "Yeah, I have important people I need to protect."

The girl smiled. She picked up her basket that was full of herbs.

"What's that?" Naruto asked.

"Oh, these are healing herbs," she explained. "I'm picking them for someone important to me." She began to walk away.

Naruto looked after her. "Hey, my name's Uzumaki Naruto. I didn't get your name!" he called after her.

She stopped and turned around. "My name is Haku." She turned around again.

"Haku, huh?" Naruto thought. _She's pretty, _he thought.

Haku sensed Naruto's expression. "And I'm a man."

"Wha?" Naruto fell over twitching. Haku left with his basket. "How is that?" he asked himself. He sat up again. "This world is full of surprises," he said as he nodded his head in agreement with himself. Then he realized that he had stayed out all night and that the others might be worried about him. He got up and started running towards Tazuna's house.

Once he arrived, he saw that the windows were all still dark and everyone was asleep. Not even Tsunami had woken up yet. He crept inside and went up to his room. He was completely exhausted. _I'll just take a quick nap and then…_ He was already asleep.

Sasuke woke up as he usually did, early, but today was different. He felt more confident. He felt more alive. _Sora,_ he thought. _Please don't forget._ He rushed through washing and decided to check on Sora before he went down to breakfast. He quietly came to Sora's room. The door was closed. He could sense that she was not awake yet and was tempted to go in and slip in bed beside her but he restrained himself. It took all of his control to make himself walk away to go to breakfast. _Don't push me away…_

_Today is the day we all go to the bridge,_ Kakashi thought as he stretched. _I think they're ready._ He quickly washed up and dressed. He heard Tsunami cooking already downstairs and knew that Sasuke was already awake. Then he remembered last night. He narrowed his eyes and tightened his fist slightly. _No, no, calm,_ he told himself. _I am not a pervert. Well, technically- SHUT UP! _He made sure his forehead protector was securely covering his eye and proceed downstairs with his hands in his pockets. _Calm, calm, calm…_

Sora and Tazuna woke at around the same time but of course Tazuna got down to breakfast much sooner than Sora. She hadn't slept much that night. Her mind was too worried with the foreboding sense of the future. She had had these sorts of senses of the future before and knew that when she felt something, it usually came true. She took her time in her bath that day and brushed her gleaming hair carefully. She stared at herself in the mirror and sighed. "You need to stop worrying," she told herself trying to cheer up. "Have faith in Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke, and even Naruto." She smiled a bit. _Oh, yeah, _she thought. _I hope Naruto is back by now. Maybe I should check on him. _She left her room and came to Naruto's. She put her ear to the door and heard loud snores and occasional movement. _He's here._ She gave a small sigh of relief. _He must be exhausted though. I shouldn't wake him up. _She walked downstairs where everyone else was already eating.

"Sora," Kakashi said. "I already told Sasuke but I think that we should all go to the bridge today and watch over Tazuna's work."

"Uh, ok," she said sitting down. She didn't look at Sasuke. "But Naruto's asleep and he'll probably be out the whole day since he trained so much yesterday."

"Oh?" Kakashi said. "Yes, he should regain his strength today. I guess it'll be just the three of us then."

Sasuke didn't want to look suspicious in front of Kakashi but he felt like screaming at Sora to look at him. He made furtive glances at her every now and then hoping to make eye contact. _Sora, why are you doing this to me? Was it all a dream last night? Did she not kiss me? _He was almost going crazy.

Once Sora finished eating, Tazuna gathered his things and they were off to the bridge. It was a pretty quiet walk since all of them were deep in thought or tired. As they got closer and closer, the sea mist became more prevalent. _Odd,_ Tazuna thought. Once they reached the bridge it was incredibly misty. "Hello?" he called out. It was already past the time work was supposed to start. "Hello?"

"This is strange," Kakashi said quietly. Then he sensed it. "Tazuna-sama," he said.

Tazuna turned his head to look at Kakashi and saw Kakashi pointing at something. He looked hard and could finally make out the outline of something. "What?" He ran over to it and knelt down. "O my god!" he gasped out. It was the body of one of his workers. His throat had been cut and the blood was still flowing out.

"Are they-?" Sora whispered. Chills ran down her spine.

"Yes," Kakashi said getting out his kunai blade. "Zabuza and the Nin are here."

"Ha, ha, ha," an evil laughter filled the air.

Sasuke's first reaction was to stand in front of Sora. He had his dagger out.

_Sasuke?_ Sora thought as he stood in front of her protectively.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "Sora, get back with Tazuna."

She jumped a little at her name but then she nodded. She put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder first then quickly ran over to Tazuna who was crying over his friends' deaths. She put a hand on his back. "Tazuna-sama," she said softly.

Tazuna tried to stop crying. "They're all dead…" he whispered. "…and it's my fault."

Sora gently pulled him up. "Tazuna-sama, it's not your fault. We've got to be careful now." She got out her dagger but still kept her grip on Tazuna's arm. "He's here."

Tazuna stiffened. He was scared.

"So you're finally here, Kakashi," Zabuza's dark voice said.

"Zabuza," Kakashi said equally dark.

Ten Zabuzas appeared surrounding the group.

"Sasuke?" Kakashi said.

Sasuke nodded and in the blink of an eye he had cut through all of the clones with his blade. The water from the clones splashed to the ground.

Then the real Zabuza and the masked Nin's figures appeared in the mist. "Impressive," he jeered. "I would have hoped your burdens had gotten stronger or this might not be fun for me to kill all of you."

"Save it," Kakashi said. "Your existence is despicable, killing these innocent people."

"Oh, but I've already killed so many innocent people," Zabuza said. "What's a few more to me?"

Kakashi didn't answer but pulled his forehead protector up revealing his Sharingan again.

"Sharingan?" Zabuza mocked. "Really, Kakashi, couldn't you think of something better?" Then he motioned for the Nin to come up. "Haku," he said. "Let's end it."

"Yes," the Nin said. He stepped forward.

Kakashi nodded to Sasuke and he stepped forward as well. The two boys faced each other. Then in the blink of an eye, Haku made a whirlwind of screeching air around him as he advanced at Sasuke and Sasuke ran at him with his kunai out. A rush of mist swirled around the two as they fought. The clashings of their weapons rang out into the still air. Haku had two needles in between his fingers and was using them as dagger-like weapons to fight against Sasuke's own dagger. Haku struck with his free hand but Sasuke dodged it. Then their blades met and stayed, each not willing to give up to the other. "You're fast," Haku commented.

"So are you," Sasuke said.

"I don't want to hurt you," Haku said.

"What?"

"But I must fight," Haku said pushing harder than before. Sasuke slid back. "I must win."

"No way," Sasuke said pushing back.

"Hm," Haku said. "You might be fast but I'm already two steps ahead of you."

"And how is that?" Sasuke sneered.

"First, there's water on the ground and second, I've got both of your hands occupied with only one of mine so all you can do is receive and block my attacks," Haku explained.

_What is he talking about?_ Sasuke said.

Then Haku began making seals with his free hand.

Sasuke's eyes went wide. _What? Seals with one hand?_

"Needles of a Thousand Pains," Haku said finishing his seal sequence. The water on the ground glowed with Chakra and rose in the air. It formed itself into a thousand needles all aimed straight at the two boys.

_Dammit,_ Sasuke thought. The needles came straight for the two but Haku knew the exact time when to jump away. _Chakra, I need to concentrate on my feet!_ He concentrated. The needles hit and a huge wave of water was made covering Sasuke from sight.

_Sasuke!_ Sora thought.

Haku landed. "He's fast, but not fast enough."

"Think again."

"What?"

Sasuke came straight at him from the air completely unharmed. He had focused his Chakra at his feet and jumped high and fast enough to get out of harm's way. Now he was the one attacking. He threw three shuriken knives at Haku one after another.

Haku jumped back dodging them one at a time but just barely. _He's better than I thought._

"Too slow!" Sasuke yelled as he sliced his kunai at Haku's head.

Haku ducked just in time to dodge the blade but then Sasuke's foot came hard at him in the face. He was thrown back a few feet and landed on his back skidding in the water.

"Oh?" Zabuza said in surprise.

Haku slowly got up.

"It looks like you have a rival, Haku," Zabuza said.

"So it seems," Haku said shortly.

"Don't underestimate my team just because they're young," Kakashi said. "His name is Uchiha Sasuke."

"Uchiha?" Zabuza repeated. _Then he must have a Blood Line Limit as well. This might prove to be difficult…but it doesn't seem he has awakened it yet._

Meanwhile, Naruto had slept on peacefully for a while but then he shot up. "WHA?" he said. "I overslept!" He bounced up and ran down the stairs still in his pajamas. He saw Tsunami at the kitchen sink. "Hey, hey, where is everyone?"

"Oh, Naruto you're up," Tsunami said surprised.

"Where'd they go?"

"Um, they all went to the bridge today-"

"WHAT? AND LEFT ME HERE?" he screamed and ran up the stairs.

"Your sensei said that you should rest today!" Tsunami called after him.

Naruto was in a frenzy to get dressed. "I can't believe they left me!" he said to himself. He splashed water on his face and decided to skip breakfast. "I've got to go!" He ran out of the house.

"Naruto!" Tsunami called. She sighed. "They never listen, do they?" She shook her head and went back in the house. "Inari?" she called. She knew that he was somewhere around the house. "Inari, come here please! I need your help today."

Inari was inside washing his hands in the upstairs bathroom. "Coming," he said sighing.

Little did they suspect that two men were lurking outside the house. Then CRASH! They burst a hole in the wall with their ninja swords. Tsunami jumped back in fright and screamed. Once the dust settled she could see the two ninjas. "What…what do you want?" she screamed backing into the counter.

"Hm," one ninja said. "It seems that Tazuna is gone." He was skinny and had a bony complexion.

"Yeah," the other said. He was big and burly with a scar across his face. Neither looked pleasant. "Well then, we'll just have to take her as hostage, huh?"

Tsunami gasped. She tried to fight back as the two men advanced on her but they grabbed her arms and she was trapped.

Inari had heard the crash and came down quickly but then he saw the two men and his mother. "MOM!" he yelled without thinking.

The two men turned their heads towards him. "Inari!" Tsunami screamed back. "Run now!"

Inari gasped upon realizing what he had done. He couldn't move. He was too scared.

"Well, well, well," the skinny one said evilly. "What should we do with him?"

"Let's kill him," the other said. "That boar wasn't enough."

"Heh, you're always thirsty for more blood."

"NO!" Tsunami yelled bravely but still shaking with fear. "If you kill him I'll bite my tongue and bleed to death!" She looked at them straight in the eyes. "You need a hostage right?"

"She's got a point," the big one said with a grunt of dissatisfaction.

"Fine," the skinny one said turning to Inari who was still shaking with fear. "You'd better be thankful to your mom for saving your life kid. Now scram before we decide to kill you anyways." They tied Tsunami's hands and led her out of the house.

Inari collapsed to his knees. He was still in a state of shock. _Why? Why are they taking Mom? Why can't I do anything to save her? Why am I so weak?_ He began to cry. "Mom…" he choked out.

"It's ok to cry at first," came Naruto's voice. "I've been there. You've got a lot of strength in there and now is the time to use it!"

_"Always be the man you want to be," _Kaiza's voice came next. _"Don't do anything you know you'll regret later and always protect the people you love."_

"Protect the people I love…" Inari whispered. He clenched his fists and stood up. "I won't let them get away." He ran out of the house after the two men. When he came outside, they were not that far off. He ran as fast as he could towards them. "HEY!" he yelled like Naruto does. "Stop!"

The group turned around. "Huh?" said the big one. "Is that the kid we just saw?"

"So it seems," the skinny one said with an evil smile on his face. "Well, there's only one thing to do, right?"

"Yeah." The two drew their swords.

Tsunami grew frantic. "NO! I'll kill myself if-"

"Shut up," the big one snarled and he knocked her out with the handle of his sword.

_This is no time to be afraid,_ Inari thought standing his ground as he watched his mother fall. _I've got to fight._

"You asked for it, kid," the skinny one said. The two rushed at him with their swords drawn.

Inari held up his fists and closed his eyes. _This is it…_ Then he felt two arms wrap around him and he felt himself being lifted. _What?_ He opened his eyes just in time to land. Naruto had come back. "Naruto?"

"Hey," he said smiling confidently. "Sorry I was late but heroes are always late."

"Huh? Uh, yeah!" Inari said. His eyes were brimming with tears of relief and joy.

Naruto looked at the two who had sliced up a tree stump. "What? The replacement technique?" one said.

"Hey, you two ugly guys!" Naruto jeered loudly. "What's the matter? Can't get even a little guy like him?" He jerked his thumb at Inari.

"Why you-" They rushed at Naruto. Naruto threw two shuriken knives at them but they blocked them easily. "Hah, not so good after all."

"Think again."

"Huh?" The two shuriken knives turned into two Narutos from behind the men and the next thing they knew they were kicked hard across the face. They fell to ground unconscious.

"Wow," Inari said in awe. "You really are a great ninja!"

"Heh," Naruto said putting a hand behind his head. "Of course I am!" He put a hand on Inari's head. "You did well," he said imitating Kakashi.

Inari felt a swell of pride. "But how did you know to come back? I thought you were going to the bridge."

"Well," Naruto put a hand to his chin in a thoughtful stance. "I was running along and then I saw a sliced up boar in the middle of the woods. I also saw similar slashes on the trees heading towards your house so I knew something was up. So I turned around to check up on you guys and it's a good thing I did, too."

"Yeah," Inari said smiling widely.

"But now I think something's going on at the bridge so I've got to go, but take care of your mom and gather the villagers." Naruto fixed his forehead protector. "I have a feeling that this is something really bad." Inari nodded. Naruto ruffled his hair. "Heroes are busy, busy, busy." And with that, he jumped out of sight.

Inari watched him go and then he went to his mother. _I'm going to do this, _he thought. _I've got to do this._

"I can show you my true speed," Haku said calmly.

_True speed?_ Sasuke thought getting ready for anything.

Haku put his hands together in a strange seal and began to chant something. The water on the ground began to gather together and solidify into big plates of ice. They rose into the air and made a chamber around Sasuke. He was trapped from all sides.

_What is this?_ Kakashi thought. He was getting worried. _Is this his Blood Line Limit?_ He made a move towards Sasuke.

"Ah, ah, ah," Zabuza said stepping in between him and the two boys. "This is a battle between those two. Your battle is with me."

_Oh, no,_ Kakashi thought. _If I go to help Sasuke, then Sora and Tazuna would be at risk…she wouldn't be able to defend against him without her Chakra. Naruto...we need…_ He couldn't move for fear of putting Tazuna and more importantly Sora in danger.

Haku walked up to one of the plates of ice and melted into the back of it. Then an image of Haku appeared on the inside of the ice plate facing Sasuke. "This is my ultimate technique," Haku said from within the ice. "Crystal Ice Mirrors." The image of Haku spread across all the ice mirrors in the chamber completely surrounding Sasuke. "These are special ice mirrors that can't be melted by fire and they reflect only me," he explained. "Now, are you ready to see my true speed?" All the reflections of Haku held up three needles.

_Where is he?_ Sasuke whirled his head around frantically. _Where is he going to strike?_ Then a shower of needles came at him with lightening speed. He had no time to dodge; it all happened too fast and he wasn't prepared. "AHHHH!" he yelled in pain. The needles sliced his skin and made deep cuts but nothing fatal. The shower of needles stopped and Sasuke fell to the ground bleeding and out of breath. _What? Why didn't he just kill me?_ He looked up at one of the reflections of Haku. _He's just torturing me._ He clenched his fist and stood up shakily.

_He can still stand?_ Haku thought. _Impressive._

"Sasuke!" Sora exclaimed quietly when she hear the scream. She couldn't see anything but outlines because the fog had gotten thicker and she was further away from the fight.

"What's happening?" Tazuna asked in a scared voice.

"I…I don't know," Sora said worriedly. _Sasuke,_ she thought.

Kakashi felt completely helpless. _I can't go to Sasuke but he needs me! I…_ he began to be frustrated. _I've got to…No, I need to trust in Sasuke's abilities._

"It looks like Haku's begun," Zabuza said not turning to see what was happening behind him. His eyes were intently fixed on Kakashi. "That kid won't last long against Haku's attack."

Kakashi's body tightened.

"Haku's specialty is torture and then slow annihilation," Zabuza went on. "No one has survived that technique so far."

Sasuke was becoming frantic. _How? How does he move so fast? Are those replications in the mirrors? No, that can't be…he wouldn't need mirrors if they were just replications. And they're too fast and powerful to be replications._ He was beginning to lose confidence in himself. _Why can't I see him move? There must be some way._

"Is this fast enough for you, Uchiha?" Haku said. He held up three more needles as did every other reflection.

_Again?_ Sasuke was determined to not just stand there and be attacked. _I've got to destroy the mirrors. _He focused his Chakra and aimed a fire blast at one of the mirrors. The flames covered the mirror.

"I told you," Haku said. "Fire won't melt these mirrors." The flames disappeared leaving behind no trace of any damage to the mirror.

_What?_ Sasuke began to shake. The reflections raised their hands and then another shower of needles sliced through the air. Sasuke covered his face and chest area with his arms. _I can't take this much longer…_ He tried to hold in the pain but he couldn't. "AHHHH!" he yelled in agony. More and more cuts were covering his body but still not a single needle hit a fatal spot. Sasuke landed on his side so as to keep some of the needles that had stuck into his arm from going in farther. He couldn't move yet. _Am I really going to die here?_

Sora heard another yell of pain and torture from within the mist. She shook her head. _I must…but I…I have to!_ She focused her Chakra to zone in on her target. She saw the outline of a chamber made of ice mirrors. _Wait, I know this move,_ she thought. _I know its weakness. _She quietly pulled out a kunai. "Tazuna," she whispered.

"Yes?"

"I'm going to go around so don't move until I get back," she said.

"Of course," Tazuna said. He could sense Sora's tension.

Sora moved silently around the group and then, "Here!" she yelled as she threw her blade straight at one of the mirrors.

_Sora?_ Sasuke thought as he tried to stand.

"Sora!" Kakashi said. _She can't see us I know for a fact…did she use her…? No!_ "SORA, DON'T!"

"But I know this! Let me fight him!" she yelled back. The dagger shot threw the air at amazing speed, but suddenly Haku's arm came out of the back of the ice mirror Sora was aiming at and caught it in mid-flight.

Sora sensed this with her Chakra. _What? How did he?_

"It's no use," Haku said sticking out his head from the mirror. _How did she know?_ He had only been lucky enough to happen to move into that mirror right when Sora threw the kunai. _If I hadn't moved here by chance then I wouldn't have had time enough to get here…even with this technique, she threw it too quickly. Too suddenly. Who is she?_

"Sora!" Kakashi said strictly. "Get back!"

"Sensei! Let me fight! Let be help Sasuke!" she pleaded. _Why is he not letting me fight? If I could just see how he uses his technique then I know I can beat him!_ "I'm a freakin' ice ninja, for God's sake!"

"Sora," Kakashi said sharply. _I can sense it, that thing inside her again. I've got to stop her. _"Get back."

Sora was shocked. She had never heard him use such a commanding and dark tone of voice with anyone before. She inched back slowly. _Sensei?_ Was he mad at her?

Haku stuck his head out to see who this girl was. He sensed her backing up towards Tazuna. _If I fought her, then I might be defeated. Why isn't she fighting?_ Then out of nowhere a knife came and hit Haku hard across the face leaving a cut on his mask. He fell out of the mirror from the shock of the attack. _What?_

"HA!" Naruto's voice yelled out triumphantly. "THE HERO IS FINALLY HERE TO SAVE THE DAY!"

Kakashi hung his head in shame. _Naruto…you would've been so much more helpful if you hadn't given away your position…_

Naruto appeared through the mist with a broad smile and crossed arms. "I won't lose to you!" He said dramatically pointing his finger at Haku who had gotten up and was facing him.

_I let my guard down…that girl…too distracting,_ he thought angrily as he faced the blond ninja who was smiling like an idiot. _It's him. The one in the forest…_

"Now," Naruto said taking out a kunai. "Take this!" He threw it with all of his strength right at Haku but he easily dodged it. "Huh?"

"You have an interesting fighting strategy if you think that just marching up to your enemy and throwing a knife in his face could work," Haku said softly.

_Naruto?_ Sasuke thought as he painfully got up.

Naruto then noticed the ice mirrors and saw Sasuke inside the chamber. "Sasuke?"

"I will deal with you later," Haku said. "But for now, I'll finish him." With that he melted back into the mirror.

"What?" Naruto yelled angrily. _Why is he always first on everyone's minds?_ He grunted and crossed his arms again.

_Naruto,_ Sora thought desperately. _If you attack from the outside and Sasuke from the inside then you can do it! Please just think!_

Sasuke was thinking along the same lines. _If I can get Naruto to attack from the outside, then-_

"Hey," someone whispered to Sasuke.

Sasuke jumped. "Wha?" Then he saw Naruto standing right next to him with his dopey grin plastered on his face.

"I've come to help you," Naruto said smiling even broader.

Sasuke mentally smacked himself in the face. "YOU IDIOT! YOU CAN'T HELP ME IN HERE!" he whisper-screamed at him.

"Well, you're welcome," Naruto said sarcastically folding his arms and sticking out his lower lip.

Sasuke just stared hopelessly at Naruto. _What kind of idiot-?_

"You don't have time to look away," Haku's voice came. Then the next thing he knew a shower of needles were being shot at the two of them.

"NARUTO!" Sasuke said as he pushed him out of the way and then jumped away himself. Some of the needles stabbed him directly in his leg. He winced in pain but kept himself silent. He landed heavily on the ground while Naruto fell face down.

"Ow…" Naruto got up. "Fine, then, I'll just have to break those mirrors down myself! KAGE BUUSHIN NO JUTSU!"

_Crap, _thought Sasuke as he saw twenty Narutos go jumping up in the air towards all the mirrors. _He's just wasting Chakra._

In a split second, all the Narutos had fallen to the ground and with small puffs of smoke, they disappeared leaving a slightly beaten up Naruto on the ground. "What? How did he move so fast?" He sat up rubbing his head.

_That was fast, _Sasuke looked back at the mirrors. _Too fast…_

"It's pointless to resist me," Haku stated matter-of-factly. "You're trapped and you cannot get out."

"Shut up!" Naruto yelled angrily. "Kage Buushin No Jutsu!" More Narutos appeared. They all conjured Chakra up in their feet and jumped with amazing speed. The water on the ground was thrown in the air from the wind emitted by the Chakra. But Haku was still faster. He hit every single Naruto easily and returned to his mirror with no mess at all.

But Sasuke had seen something. _Wait, the water! _He had seen the water in the air being moved by Haku. _I can see his movement, just slightly, but…_ "Naruto, can you attack again?"

Naruto was panting heavily from use of Chakra and the beating he was getting but he stood up again. "Of course I can!" He replicated himself again and jumped out.

Sasuke kicked some water into the air and watched as closely as he could at the movement of the water. _I see,_ Sasuke thought as Naruto came crashing to the ground. _I can predict his movements now, I think…_

"Dammit," Naruto cursed to himself. He stood up again. "I can't even see him."

_But maybe I can,_ Sasuke thought. "Naruto-"

"Shut up!" he snarled. "I can do this! KAGE BUUSHIN NO JUTSU!" He replicated himself again and jumped.

_Now's my chance._ Sasuke aimed and shot a fire jutsu at where he thought Haku was going to be.

_What?_ Haku thought as the fire just barely caught the end of his pants. _How did he predict my movements?_ He went back into his mirrors but now with a slightly burnt pant leg. _That's impossible…_

_What is this feeling?_ Sasuke thought as he stared at Haku's reflection. _I feel like I can see…see his movement. _He closed his eyes.

"Hey it's working!" Naruto said struggling to stand up. "You almost got him!"

Sasuke opened his eyes but something was different. _I can see…_

Naruto turned to look at Sasuke then stared. "Sasuke…"

"What?"

"Your eyes! Their like Kakashi-sensei's!"

_Sharingan? Is it really? _

_He opened his Sharingan? In the middle of a battle? _Haku thought. _This might be a little harder than I thought. I've got to end this now._ He pulled out five needles and every reflection did the same. "I'm sorry, but I must end this now."

"What?" Naruto said in alarm.

"No," Sasuke said quietly as he saw the needles fly out from Haku's mirrors.

Naruto couldn't react. He was too tired. He couldn't move.

"Naruto!" Sasuke yelled as he threw a needle he had picked out of his leg to cut off Haku's needles. They collided and fell to the ground. Then he shoved Naruto to the side and began to block the needle shower with his kunai.

_He's protecting Naruto and stopping my attack at the same time?_ Haku thought. Fear began to arise within him. _No, it must be a mistake…_ He aimed another shower of needles at Sasuke.

Sasuke didn't have time to save himself and Naruto but he automatically kicked Naruto out of the way but in doing so several needles went straight through his chest, arms and legs. He coughed up some blood as he fell on his knees.

"Sasuke!" Naruto said as he struggled to get up. He managed to crawl over to Sasuke. "Sasuke."

Sasuke couldn't support himself anymore. He dropped but Naruto caught him. "Naruto," he said as he coughed out some more blood. It dripped down his chin.

"No, you can't die!" Naruto said desperately. "No!"

"Shut up, will you?" Sasuke said. "I can't hold on anymore…" He shut his eyes tightly in pain.

"Why? I never asked you to save me!" he screamed.

Sasuke was silent for a while but then he spoke. "I hated you, but my body worked on its own. I didn't want to save you…I just did." He gasped for air. "I didn't want to die here…" The blood stains on his clothes were spreading. "I wanted to survive so I could kill him…my brother." Sasuke closed his eyes for the last time.

"Sasuke? Sasuke!" Naruto yelled.

"He fought well and deserves the respect of a great ninja," Haku said softly.

"Shut up," Naruto said darkly. "You don't know him…" He was angry. Some unknown power started welling up inside of him. He felt a surge of power go through him as he stood up. A wind was created and within it were swirls and streaks of a red light.

_What is this new Chakra?_ Haku thought in shock. _Where did he get this power?_

The red Chakra started swirling around Naruto as he clenched his fists. "You! I'll kill you!" He ran at one of the mirrors. His eyes became sharper and his fingers became claws. He was powerful, he was angry, he was out of control. "I'LL KILL YOU!" He punched the mirror with such force that it shattered into a thousand pieces.

"What?" Haku gasped in alarm. He threw a shower of needles at Naruto and it hit but Naruto's Chakra deflected them off not even leaving a scratch.

_Is that Naruto?_ Sora thought as she felt a sweep of power. _This Chakra…it's not…this is impossible! _

_The fox's powers are leaking, _Kakashi thought. _I've got to stop it before it's too late._ He suddenly moved but Zabuza was right with him.

"Are you going to put those two in danger?" he said attacking Kakashi with his blade.

Kakashi blocked it with a kunai but barely.

"Your fight is with me, remember?" Zabuza said.

_Dammit…_ Kakashi thought as he threw Zabuza back.

Naruto turned in the blink of an eye and shattered another mirror. The red Chakra was taking over.

_His Chakra should be gone now!_ Haku thought as he quickly got out of the mirrors as Naruto shattered another one. He stood ready to defend himself.

Naruto sensed the real Haku now. He turned towards him and got down on all fours. He growled in rage and shot off straight for Haku.

_This…this isn't human,_ Haku thought. Haku blocked Naruto's punch to his face but the force was so strong that it snapped his arm. Naruto wasn't finished yet. He immediately followed with a powerful kick and it landed Haku right in the face. He was thrown backwards and hit the ground. _This can't be…_ He slowly stood up despite the excruciating pain he felt. His arm was useless and he could hardly breathe. _I can't win this…_ His mask had cracked and was beginning to fall off piece by piece.

Naruto got ready for another assault. He ran at Haku at full speed, the red Chakra spurring him on, giving him power beyond reason.

_I'm sorry, Zabuza-san,_ Haku thought as a piece of his mask fell off. _I failed you. I am of no more use…_ Naruto was closing in rapidly. Other parts of the mask fell off. _Forgive me..._ The last of the mask fell off and Haku closed his eyes waiting for the lethal attack, but it never came. He opened his eyes and saw Naruto holding his fist just inches away from his face. He had stopped.

Kakashi and Zabuza were now fighting head on. Zabuza's heavy weapon had made enormous cracks in the bridge while Kakashi was slowly tiring from all the dodging. _I've got to finish this!_ he thought as he barely dodged another attack. They both jumped back for a small break. "Zabuza," Kakashi said after catching his breath. "Let's finish this now."

"As you wish," Zabuza said evilly. He picked up his blade and steadied himself.

Kakashi grabbed a scroll out of his pack and bit his thumb letting the blood flow freely. He marked the scroll for its entire length with his blood and then snapped it up and placed it on the ground. "Tracking Fang no Jutsu!" he said. Nothing appeared to be happening.

"What was that?" Zabuza taunted but stopped running towards Kakashi.

Kakashi just looked at Zabuza.

"Well, if you're not going to do anything then," he said stepping forward but then a claw came out of the ground. "What?" Then he saw them. At least ten dogs were suddenly on top of him each biting him and not letting go. "Ahh!" he yelled as struggled to get them off but he was trapped. The dogs' teeth were sinking into his skin on his arms, legs, and body. "YOU!"

"These are my dogs," Kakashi said quietly. "And now you'll die." He stood up and grasped one of his wrists with his other hand. "This is my only original attack."

"The Chidori," Zabuza gasped as he began to see a small glow form in Kakashi's hand.

"Why don't you kill me?" Haku asked.

"You," Naruto panted. His eyes had gone back to normal. "You're the one from the forest."

"I have no more reason to live," Haku said quietly. "Just kill me now."

"What?" Naruto said. He couldn't believe he was hearing this.

"I cannot match your power," Haku said simply. "I am of no more use now to Zabuza-san."

"How can you say that?" Naruto said. "You're your own person! You don't have to go for a thug like Zabuza!"

"You don't understand," Haku said.

Naruto stared at Haku.

"Do you know the worst feeling in the world?" Haku asked.

"Huh?" Naruto didn't know what to say.

"Loneliness. Feeling that you're alone in the world and no one wants you," Haku stated. "I was born in a small snowy village in the Water Country. My family loved each other and we were happy until my father found out that my mother and I possessed the Blood Line Limit. My father killed my mother and tried to kill me since the Water Country experienced civil wars and those with advanced bloodlines came to be hated because we were used as weapons and blamed for the turmoil sweeping the land. I escaped by killing my father. It was the only way I could survive but then I realized that I was alone now and unwanted. Then I met Zabuza and he was the only one who would take me in. From that day on, I gave Zabuza my loyalty." Haku sighed slowly and closed his eyes. "I have no more will to live. Kill me now."

Naruto was in shock. He knew what it was like to be alone. He had never had any parents. He had never really been wanted until he found Sora, Kakashi, and even Sasuke. "I…I can't," he said as he lowered his fist.

"Why?"

"You...just because you feel you can't protect that thug doesn't mean you have no reason to live!" Naruto nearly shouted. "You're more than that!"

"No," Haku interrupted. "I vowed I would always be his follower, his tool. He has no use for a broken tool. So please…" He took a step forward although it caused him great pain to do so.

"You," Naruto said taking out his kunai blade. He remembered Sasuke. _I have to avenge him._ "If we had met under different circumstances, we might've been friends." He pointed it at Haku. "I'm sorry."

Haku nodded.

Naruto pulled back his arm tears streaming down his face. _I hate this…_ He thrust his dagger forward at Haku.

Haku's eyes shot open and he grabbed Naruto's wrist and dodged the attack. "I'm sorry, but I have to do one more thing." He disappeared.

"What?" Naruto was left alone. Haku was gone. _I'm so confused!_

Kakashi's hand was now glowing intensely with lighting seemingly coming out from his hand. "Now, you will die."

_I can see the Chakra in his hand,_ Zabuza thought in fear. He tried to move but was still stuck. _I'm going to die!_ His eyes went wide with fear.

Kakashi ran at Zabuza with his Chidori. He thrust his hand forward with the intent to kill Zabuza but then he felt someone else. He couldn't stop his attack. Haku had appeared right in front of Zabuza protecting him and taking Kakashi's fatal attack for Zabuza. "What?" Kakashi said trying to take his hand back but Haku had grasped his wrist to keep the attack there. Blood was everywhere and his eyes went pale.

"I'm sorry, Zabuza-san," Haku managed to get out. Then he was silent.  
Kakashi had his hand back now. He was shocked. _This kid gave his life for him?_ He looked at Zabuza. The dogs had disappeared on Kakashi's command at the last second to avoid getting hit by the Chidori.

Zabuza didn't seem to be moved at all. He stood up sneering. "He was useful, till the end," Zabuza said.

"What?" Kakashi said.

"Now, I will kill you!" Zabuza said as he swung his blade not caring that he had to cut through Haku to get to Kakashi.

Kakashi barely had time to grab Haku's body and avoid the blade. He jumped away and placed Haku down gently. Haku's eyes were still open and Kakashi quickly closed them. "You," he said dangerously. "You don't even care, do you?"

"Why should I? He was just another tool as we all are," Zabuza said.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes and he rushed at Zabuza. He was angry.

_What is this?_ Zabuza thought. _He's too fast! _Kakashi attacked viciously over and over again. Zabuza couldn't keep up and ended up with blades in his arms. The muscles were torn and the bones were broken. They were useless. _How can this be?_ The fog lifted suddenly.

Naruto could see that Haku was dead but he had already felt it. _I can't believe he was still loyal to that bastard!_ he thought angrily. Then he spotted Sora and Tazuna.

Sora had seen everything through her mind's eye even though she couldn't see it physically. Now that the fog had lifted somewhat, she saw Naruto looking at her. His eyes were confused and sad. "Naruto," she said softly. Then she remembered. "Tazuna-sama, will come with me to Naruto and Sasuke?"

"Of course," he said taking her hand.

They two ran towards Naruto. "Naruto!" Sora said as she came to him.

Naruto was speechless still in shock.

Sora placed a hand on Naruto's face forcing him to look into her eyes. "Naruto," she said again. "I know I can't feel what you're going through right now but your job is not done yet." She could feel it. "You've got to be strong." With that she left him going towards Sasuke.

_What does she mean?_ Naruto asked himself. He wanted to just run away from everything. He wanted to hide himself and not worry about anything. _But,_ he thought, _she's right. _He clenched his fist and ran towards Kakashi, Zabuza, and Haku. _I'm not finished yet!_

Sora reached Sasuke's body. She knelt beside him. Tazuna decided to be quiet and let Sora be. He thought Sasuke's death might be really hard on Sora.

Sora bent down to his ear. "Sasuke," she whispered while stroking his hair. "Sasuke, wake up." She knew that he wasn't dead. She could feel it. She sat straight again and wiped the blood away from his mouth. "I know you're alive," she said.

Tazuna heard what Sora had said. "Sora," he said softly._ Does she not realize…?_

Then, to Tazuna's surprise, Sasuke stirred. He opened his eyes to see two beautiful red ones looking straight at him. _I'm not dead?_ Sasuke asked himself. He tried to sit up but couldn't. _Sora?_

Sora smiled slightly. She pulled Sasuke up slowly as she whispered, "I knew it."

Sasuke looked at her. Tazuna was in a state of shock. "What…what happened? I thought I was dead."

"No," Sora said smiling a little more. "Somehow, I knew that Haku couldn't kill you. He purposefully put you in a near death state."

"How did you know?" Sasuke asked still amazed that he was alive.

"I had a feeling," she said simply.

Sasuke had a feeling that Sora was keeping something from him. _Again…_he thought a little annoyed but he had more pressing questions on his mind. "Where's Haku? Did Naruto kill him?"

Sora looked at him in surprise. "Well, no," she said. "He gave his life to save Zabuza from Kakashi's Chidori."

_What?_ Sasuke thought. _Neither of us could even touch him. He was too powerful and he gave up his life for that bastard? I'm too weak…I couldn't defeat him. How am I going to defeat my brother if I couldn't even defeat him?_ He clenched his fist in frustration.

Sora knew what he was thinking. She pried his fingers open and clasped his hand. "Don't think whatever you're thinking, Sasuke," she said unusually brightly.

"Huh?" he said as he looked at their hands. Their fingers entwined together. He felt her Chakra flow into him giving him strength.

Sora gave him a tight squeeze and let go. She would heal his minor wounds later but she had already addressed the more serious ones with the Chakra she gave him. _He's done his part…_

As the fog completely cleared up, Naruto ran up to Zabuza only to be stopped by Kakashi. The two Jounins had stopped fighting because before them appeared Gatou and some 20 odd ninjas. _What? Is _that_ Gatou?_ Naruto thought. The man was short and fat with brown, poofy hair and strange round sunglasses. He must have been one of the ugliest people in the world.

"So, Zabuza," Gatou said evilly. The ninjas behind him snickered as well. "You failed again, didn't you?" He walked forward with confidence as he spotted Haku's body. "And this kid again." He placed a foot on Haku's chest. "He's as useless as they come, isn't he?"

Naruto was angry. "Shut up!" He got out a kunai and started forward but Kakashi held him still. "Sensei! Let me go!"

Zabuza looked at Gatou with contempt but remained silent.

"Aren't you going to do something?" Naruto yelled at Zabuza. "He loved you like a father! He really did and now you're just going to let his body be shamed by the likes of that…that THING!"

"Shut up…" Zabuza choked out.

"No! How can you just treat him like a tool? Did he mean nothing to you, at all?" Naruto yelled again.

"I…" Zabuza looked down.

"He sacrificed his LIFE for YOU, you BASTARD!" Naruto was really losing it. "And this is the thanks he gets?"

"You're as useless as this kid!" Gatou said kicking Haku's body. "You can't even defend yourself against the ravings of this shrimp? I have no need for broken tools like you." He motioned to the others to step up. "Finish them off." The men started laughing evilly as they got out their weapons.

"How…how can you be so heartless?" Naruto asked choking on tears. "He loved you…"

"Stop, please," Zabuza said with his eyes filled with tears. He used his shoulder to pull the wrappings off of his mouth and he let them fall. "Give me your kunai."

"Huh?" Naruto said in slight shock. But then with a sigh he closed his eyes and flipped his dagger up in the air at Zabuza.

Zabuza caught it in his mouth and immediately rushed towards the crowd of men. His eyes were blazing with hate. The men started attacking him from all sides and Zabuza got struck over and over again with spears and knives, but he ignored the pain. He had only one focus in mind. Gatou saw his rage and retreated behind his small army of ninjas trying to escape off the side of the bridge to where his boat was but he was too slow. Zabuza, even with 3 spears sticking out of his back rushed at Gatou and sliced through his chest with the knife in his mouth. Gatou cried out in pain as he staggered backwards. Zabuza whipped his head around and let go of the knife and it went straight into Gatou's heart.

Gatou fell to his knees gasping for air. Blood was coming out of his mouth. "You are a demon!" he gasped out.

Zabuza stepped up to him slowly. "Then I'll see you in hell." With that he pushed Gatou's dying body off the bridge and he splashed into the water.

The men were in shock and dared not mess with Zabuza since he had killed a few of them even with his broken arms and spears in his back. Zabuza stumbled forward searching for Haku's body. "Haku…" he whispered as he kept staggering forward but he fell down and couldn't move.

Kakashi didn't move but held onto Naruto. "Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto squirmed. "We should do something!"

"This is not our battle anymore, Naruto," Kakashi said softly.

Naruto stopped struggling and looked down.

"But you should not look away," Kakashi said. "He deserves at least that much respect."

Naruto forced himself to look. Then he saw the men all glaring at them.

"Hey," said one of them. "That guy was our paycheck, you know?"

"Yeah," said another. "What are you going to do about it?" The others nodded in agreement.

"Well," said the first one. "If you don't have anything for us, then we'll just plunder the village for everything we want."

They all got out their weapons again and began to advance.

"NOT SO FAST!" yelled a young voice.

"What?" Naruto turned around and there standing with the village people was Inari. He had gathered them all together and had brought them to the bridge to defend their village.

"You're not going to take our village away from us!" Inari shouted bravely. The villagers behind him all yelled in agreement lifting up their weapons of pitchforks and kitchen knives.

"Inari!" Naruto shouted happily. "That's the spirit!" _All right, if he can go that far, then I can help too! _"Shadow Jutsu!" he said as five of him appeared smiling with arms crossed.

_Hmm, well, I could just use the same amount of Chakra as Naruto,_ Kakashi said to himself. "Shadow Jutsu," he said as 30 or more Kakashis appeared.

Naruto fell over. "What?" he whined.

Gatou's thugs were beginning to freak. "Uh, we'd better get out of here!" They looked at the many blood stained Kakashis and went running for the boat. They jumped off the bridge in a desperate attempt to escape and they went splashing in the water and swam away.

"YEA!" came shouts of joy. The crowd on the bridge was rejoicing. They lifted Inari on their shoulders. Tazuna went to join them with tears in his eyes. _Kaiza would be proud,_ he thought as he reached up to give Inari a hug.

The shadow replications disappeared with puffs of smoke leaving a very exhausted Naruto and Kakashi.

"Kakashi," came a weak voice from Zabuza. Kakashi walked up to him. "Please, would you let me see his face one last time?"

Kakashi pulled his forehead protector over his eye. "Sure." He lifted Zabuza up and carried him over to where Haku's body lay and placed him gently down next to him.

Zabuza turned his head to look at Haku's face. Then with the rest of his strength, he moved his arm up to touch his face. "Haku," he said. "I wish with all of my heart that I can go to the place you're going." He touched Haku's face gently. "I don't deserve to but I realize now that I do love you, as well." It began to snow lightly.

Sora was watching from a distance while the noise from the crowd seemed to disappear with the falling snow. _The heavens are crying, for Haku,_ she thought as she turned her face upwards. _Please,_ she pleaded, _May they be together for eternity._

Only Zabuza saw the two tears that fell from Haku's closed eyes. He sighed with contentment and closed his own waiting for the darkness to overtake him.

Naruto was crying. "Why?" he choked. _Are ninjas just tools of war? Are we destined to live a life of no emotion? _

Kakashi put a hand on his shoulder. "They will be together," he said. Then he walked up to Haku and Zabuza lifting them each gently. "Let's go." He silently teleported himself, Haku, and Zabuza away to bury them.

Naruto nodded and went back to get Sora and Sasuke. "Come on," he said quietly without looking at them or noticing Sasuke was still alive. "We've got to go."

Sora nodded as she watched Naruto walk past. Then she helped Sasuke walk silently off the bridge back to where they knew they'd find Kakashi.

As the three were walking silently, Naruto finally decided to turn around to check if Sora was behind him then he freaked. "AH!" He fell backwards and began to scoot away. "Sasuke!"

Sasuke glared at him and continued to walk with Sora supporting him.

"You're…alive?" Naruto gaped as his eyes grew wide.

"No," Sasuke said sarcastically. He was still in a pretty bad mood.

Naruto got angry. "You little...I can't believe I was actually blah, blah, blah…"

Sora sighed as she kept the group moving ahead. _Things are already back to normal?_ They walked the rest of the way into the forest with Naruto blabbing on about nothing and Sasuke ignoring him. Naruto was still obviously in shock. Once they reached the spot, Naruto quickly shut up as he saw Kakashi squatting down beside two new graves.

He stood up as he sensed their approach. They stood in reverence to the dead each filled with thoughts. Finally Naruto broke the silence. "I'm not going to be used as a tool of war," he said clenching a fist. "I'm going to become Hokage in my own way of the ninja!" He raised his face to the setting sun. "I won't become some machine for anyone!"

Sora smiled to herself at Naruto's optimism but it quickly faded. _He's still a child,_ she thought. _He doesn't know…but I_ _am sure of it. He carries the Nine-tailed fox demon. That red Chakra was his. I can feel it._ She didn't know how she would react anymore knowing what Naruto held inside of him. _And then there's Kakashi…he knows something. Why didn't he let me fight? It could have saved a lot of suffering…for everyone._ She knew she couldn't kill Haku because she'd never had the experience of killing before plus the fact that she knew he had a good heart. She could have stopped his technique though. She closed her eyes and breathed out slowly trying to rid herself of her anxieties.

"We should head back to the village," Kakashi said suddenly. "They're waiting for us." He turned and started walking down the path back to Tazuna's house. Naruto followed with a determined look on his face.

Sasuke kept his focus on Sora. She hadn't moved. "Sora," he said quietly. Sora slowly turned around and looked him straight in the eye. Her expression was sad or anxious. Happy or fearful…he couldn't tell. The rays of the setting sun played in her flowing hair. He walked up to her and grasped her hand. He pulled her into an embrace. "Let's go," he whispered in her ear. She nodded and the two started down the path following Kakashi and Naruto.

Several weeks passed before the bridge was finally completed and without Gatou to stop their trade and economy, the village began to gain back some of its economy. There was a huge celebration at the opening of the bridge and Naruto was asked to cut the ribbon since it was he who inspired Inari to gather the villagers to protect their island.

Naruto came out in the bright sunlight with an enormous smile plastered on his face. He had a pair of gigantic scissors and approached the red ribbon crossing in front of the bridge. Every single person from the village was there.

Tazuna was standing next to Naruto with pride. After quieting the crowd a bit, Tazuna spoke with a loud clear voice. "Thank you all for helping us get through this time of trial! Now we're here to finally see the opening of the bridge that will forever connect this island to the mainland. It will be a sign of resistance to those who wish to overpower us, a sign of hope in times of distress, and of course it holds the memory of a hero, a new hero!"

The crowd cheered wildly as Naruto stepped up to the ribbon. He absolutely loved the attention. Kakashi, Sora, and Sasuke were standing next to him. Inari was there next to Tazuna smiling broadly as well, but not as big as Naruto. Naruto put the scissors in place and pushed down firmly. The ribbon fell to the ground as the people roared with applause and cheering. Even Sasuke was clapping although he wasn't smiling. Sora glanced at him and smiled. She playfully shoved him with her elbow trying to get him to lighten up. He smirked and shouldered her playfully back.

The village was alive again. There was celebrating, dancing, and of course food. They partied long into the night. Naruto was having the time of his life. The people loved him here. They kept shaking hands with him and hugging him with tears in their eyes. He felt important for once in his life. Inari stayed by his side the entire night and they ate until they dropped. Kakashi didn't really like that much attention and just picked a nice place to eat and drink to his heart's content as he kept an eye on his three Genins.

Sora had found the little girl to whom she had given candy so long ago and she was immediately attached to Sora. Sora found out that her parents had died and she had a younger brother to take care of. Sora spent the entire night buying things for the little girl and her brother and watching them play games with the other children. Sasuke had wanted to stay with Sora so he forced himself to tag along. The kids began to play with him and he felt incredibly uncomfortable but Sora seemed to approve of it so he put up with it.

Finally the party subsided and Tazuna, Inari, Tsunami, and Kakashi's team went back for a final night's rest at Tazuna's house. Kakashi almost had to carry Naruto and Inari home because they had eaten so much. Sora was teasing Sasuke saying that she had finally found a soft spot in him for the kids. Sasuke absolutely refused to admit anything which made Sora tease him even more. Everyone was in a happy, giddy, but tired mood and as soon as they got to the house, each went to his own room and fell asleep.

The next morning came in a few hours and the team packed their bags and ate a light breakfast. Tazuna, Tsunami, and Inari insisted on walking to the bridge with them so the group set out for the final time to the bridge.

"Well," Kakashi said as they stopped at the entrance of the bridge. "Thank you for your hospitality, Tazuna-sama." They shook hands warmly.

"No, thank you for helping us!" Tazuna said with a smile.

"We'll all miss you!" Tsunami said as she and Sora hugged. She had tears in her eyes.

Naruto and Inari were staring at each other trying to keep their tears from falling. "Go ahead, it's ok to cry when your happy," Naruto said with a shaky voice. His mouth began to waver.

"Well, why don't you cry now?" Inari said, his mouth doing the same.

"Hah," Naruto said turning around. "Heroes don't cry!"

"Yeah!" Inari said grabbing onto his mother's hand. They both let their tears fall.

_They're stubborn to the end,_ Sora thought as she shifted her pack.

"Let's get going," Kakashi said beginning to walk down the bridge. The three Genins followed.

Sora was smiling, Sasuke was his usual expressionless self, and Naruto…well…his face was scrunched up trying to stop his crying without making it look like he was crying in the first place. He raised a hand without turning. "See ya, Inari!" he called out.

Inari wiped his nose with his hand and then waved back smiling through his tears. "See ya!" He kept waving until they were out of sight.

"You know," Tazuna said to Tsunami. "We should name this bridge, don't you think?"

"Yeah," Tsunami agreed.

"Let's name it after Naruto," Tazuna said brightly.

Tsunami stifled a small laugh but nodded in agreement.

"How does Naruto Big Bridge sound?"

Tsunami couldn't help but laugh this time. "Whatever you want, Tazuna-nii-san."

The trio walked back to their house in quiet remembrance of the four ninjas who had saved their village and changed their lives.

Back on the road again, Sora was lost in her thoughts. Over the past few weeks, she had never stopped thinking about Naruto and the demon trapped inside of him. She had a bad feeling about the Nine-tailed fox demon but didn't know what it was that she was so worried about. _The Fourth sealed him away…for good, right?_ she reminded herself. _But why do I feel so…cautious? Around him? _She shook her head. _No, he's not any different than before. He's just the same old Na-_

"Hey, Sora," Naruto said quietly catching her by the arm.

"Oh," she said in a sort of surprise. "Naruto-kun?"

"I was just thinking," he said looking up nervously at the sky. "I mean, when we get back to the village and all…" He trailed off.

"Yes?" she inquired tilting her head a little sideways.

"Well, did you…" He paused again looking to the side.

"Did I?"

"I mean, do you want ta…ta…doyouwannagooutwithme?"

Sora raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Naruto laughed nervously. "I mean, do ya wanna go have dinner or something with me sometime?"

_Is he asking me out?_ Sora thought. _Isn't this ironic…then again…my whole life is just one big irony…sigh…_ She smiled. "Sure, Naruto-kun." _I've got to be able to stop worrying when I'm around him. And I've got to get my mind off of Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei…_

The other two were a ways ahead of them so they didn't hear a thing.

"Really?" Naruto said his eyes bugging out.

"Yeah," Sora said smiling.

Naruto went completely ecstatic. "YESSSSSSSSSSS!" he rejoiced as he danced around with his fist in the air. _She said yes! This is like the best day of my life, ever!_ He continued to hop around a bit.

Sora sweat-dropped and tried to calm him down. "Naruto-kun!" she said as she tried to grab his arm.

Sasuke turned his head to see what was going on behind him. Once he saw Naruto jumping around like a madman and Sora with a worried expression on her face, he didn't want to know.

"It looks like we're almost there, you guys," Kakashi said from ahead.

Sasuke stopped beside him. He could see the walls of the village from where they were. All they needed to do was get through the forest and they'd be home.

Sora and Naruto caught up and Sora finally had Naruto somewhat calmer than before. She looked up to where the other two were looking. "Hey, there's the village!" she said trying to distract Naruto from his rejoicing. _He's way too happy about this,_ she thought with a laugh.

"Huh?" The distraction worked. "Hey, we're almost there already? Geez, the last trip took forever! Come on!" He grabbed Sora's hand suddenly and rushed forward pulling her along.

"AH!" Sora exclaimed in shock.

"Come on Sasuke!" Naruto said in a mocking voice. "I'll beat you to the gate for sure!"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Naruto's retreating figure holding Sora's hand. _I'll kill him!_ he thought viciously to himself as he sprung from the ground determined to win.

Kakashi sighed. "Ah, the bitter rivalry," he said to himself. He teleported himself to the gate to wait for the arrival of his Genins.


	3. Part III: Preparation for the Exam

Part III: Preparation for the Chuunin Exam

After a month of being back in Konoha, Naruto was once again getting mad at how easy and pointless all of their missions were. He repeatedly showed off in front of Sora on every mission and always ended up either doing it wrong and getting hurt, or getting saved by Sasuke which was worse. It was embarrassing to say the least.

Naruto and Sora's "date" was actually enjoyable but it was more like going as friends instead of an actual date. At first Naruto was completely nervous and stiff but Sora had him relaxed and back to normal in no time. After eating at a pretty nice restaurant for dinner, they decided to walk in the garden for a while then Naruto walked Sora home. Sora had moved into a small apartment for herself so that she could be closer to the village and to their training spots. "Thanks, Naruto-kun," she said as they reached her door. "It was fun."

"Yeah," Naruto said smiling comfortably. He'd never felt at such ease with another person before. _I think I'm really falling in love with her,_ he thought. _I mean, she's beautiful and easy to talk to, beautiful, caring, gentle, beautiful…just perfect._ Then to Naruto's surprise, Sora gave him a small peck on the cheek then disappeared into her apartment. Naruto stood there in shock. _Did she just…?_ He touched his cheek and walked away keeping his cool but once he got outside, "HOLY CRAP!" he yelled to the moon.

"Shut up," came a cranky voice from inside one of the buildings.

He ignored him. "I can't believe she kissed me! ME!" he shouted as he danced through the streets. "She KISSED me!" He did a few somersaults and flips then ran off to his apartment.

"Shut up!" said the man again as he walked to his window but all he saw was a small yellow blob of Naruto's hair disappearing off into the distance. The man grunted and shook his head. "Kids…" he muttered under his breath.

Sora thought back on what just happened. _Something's not right…_she thought as she got ready for bed. _I have such a strange feeling about him. It's like I feel he's dangerous or something._ She had tried to hide her intuition and act normally with him. _Maybe I went a little too far with the kiss,_ she thought as she pulled her shirt off. It was getting warmer so it felt good for her bare skin to touch the cool air. She sighed as she walked to her bathroom to start her shower.

Kakashi had been watching over her the entire time. Sora didn't know this but he lived in the same apartment building as she did. He had been on the roof of the opposite building spying on the two Genins. _Well, it isn't really spying, parse._ He was jealous. He had always been jealous of Naruto and Sasuke. They were her age and didn't have a teacher student relationship to block the way. He saw her take off her shirt revealing her bra. He knew he shouldn't be looking but he couldn't take his eyes off her. She was so addictive, so beautiful. A wave of sadness washed across his face when she disappeared into the bathroom to take a shower. He wanted to go into her room. He wanted to be with her. He wanted to- _I've got to stop this,_ he said to himself standing straight. He turned his head away from her window begrudgingly and leaped off to his own apartment. _She sees me as just a sensei,_ he thought bitterly to himself. _Just a sensei._

For the next few days, he tried to sort of ignore Sora and pay more attention to Sasuke and Naruto's awful teamwork. Sora felt his distance and decided to talk to him later. After another boring day of work and a grueling training session for the guys, but suspiciously not for Sora, it was time to go home for the day. The guys left angrily as Naruto continued to shout at the not-listening Sasuke. Sora stayed behind waiting for them to get out of earshot. Kakashi knew she wanted to talk to him but he pretended he didn't know and started leaving as well.

"Wait, sensei!" Sora said quickly as she saw him about to leap off.

_Dammit,_ he said to himself but abstained from running away. "Yes?" he said as casually as he could.

"Um, I just wanted to ask you," she said.

He nodded telling her to go on.

"I mean, I've felt that you've been ignoring me a little, going softer on me in training than on the guys and well…" she trailed off feeling a little embarrassed.

"Have I now?" he asked nonchalantly.

Sora's head shot up a little annoyed. "Well, yeah, I mean, you've been paying more attention to them and spending more time with them and-"

"You shouldn't seek attention like that," Kakashi said surprising even himself at his words and tone. He felt guilty that he had been avoiding her as much as possible because he was jealous…of his students!

"What?" Sora was now more than a little irritated. "I don't seek attention at all and I'm sorry if I'm coming off that way." Kakashi's neglect towards Sora was so obvious that even Naruto had said something about it to her a few days earlier. "What's with this?" she asked getting angrier as she spoke. "You didn't let me fight on Tazuna-sama's mission at all! I could've saved everyone from so much pain if you had just let me fight Haku's technique! I'm an ice-ninja for God's sake!"

Kakashi knew she was right but didn't show it. He just stared at her coolly and said nothing.

Sora stared at him in disbelief. Then she remembered the training that he made her go through in the forest that one day. She calmed down a little. "I don't know what you know about me," she said quietly looking down. "I don't know if you know what happened to me in the forest but I'm pretty sure that has something to do with the way you're acting." She took a breath. "If you would just tell me…" she trailed off. All her life people have kept things from her. Always telling what and what not to do, never telling her why. She was frustrated. Even her father…she could feel her eyes sting with the threat of tears but she felt Kakashi's gaze on her so she refused to let them fall. "I'm sorry, Sensei," she barely whispered. "I shouldn't have said that. I'll go now." She started to walk past him but felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Sora," Kakashi finally said. "You have every right to be mad at me and I understand how you feel."

Sora closed her eyes and shivered slightly.

"I don't have many answers, but please be patient with me right now. I need-" _you. _"-to protect you right now. I'm sorry for my actions." He turned his head to look at her. She still looked forward but he knew she could see him. _Can't you understand that you're tearing me up inside? Don't you know I love you?_ his heart cried out. He removed his hand from her shoulder and disappeared.

Sora was left standing by herself. A gust of wind blew her hair across her face. She punched the nearest tree in a sudden outburst of emotion. It made an indention in the trunk and the force of the blow made her knuckles bleed profusely but she leaned into the tree on her fist increasing the pressure on the newly formed cuts. She felt the pain but physical pain was like a second nature to her. She had trained herself to resist torture and the sufferings of the body, but not the mind, not the heart. _Am I not strong enough to overcome these...walls?_ she asked herself bitterly. The blood ran down her arm but she didn't look at it. She slowly lowered her arm and turned to look at the sky. _Am I like the sky?_ she thought bitterly. _Am I just a perception, not really existing? They look at me, they admire me for my vast abilities and pretty face, but they can never touch me. I can never touch them…just a never ending stretch of imagination._ She wanted to get home and sleep or something, anything. She sighed as she began her journey home.

Kakashi had been watching from a distance even though he had pretended to leave. He saw her look at the sky with a painful expression. _Sora, your name means "sky." The highest goal, the quintessence of perfection and strength. Why do you torture yourself?_ He watched her leave but he lingered behind. Once she was out of sight, he jumped down from the tree he was in and went over to the spot Sora had been standing. He saw her blood on the tree she had punched still glistening in the sunlight. "I want to protect you," he said aloud touching the blood. "You're still so young and fragile…capable, yes, but naïve of what may happen. This thing inside you is more dangerous than you know." He had sensed a presence back when he had trained Sora in the forest next to Tazuna's house so long ago. He didn't know what it was or how to describe it but it gave him the feeling of pure evil. He wanted to dismiss it selfishly, to forget this feeling that surrounded her when she lost control. He felt as if this evil was keeping him from her and he didn't want it to come out ever again.

The call of an eagle abruptly brought him back to his senses. "Huh?" he said in surprise. He looked up to see the eagle circling the sky above him. "It's that time already?" He sighed heavily at what he was going to face but leaped towards the village.

All of the Jounin senseis of Genin squads were called to a special meeting with the Hokage. "It's time," the Hokage said taking off his squarish hat.

"For what?" asked a new Jounin, Kurenai. She was the Jounin leader of Hinata's team with Kiba and Shino.

"Oh, it's time to choose who will take the Chuunin exam this time around," Asuma, the Jounin leader of Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji's group answered. He knew that she was new to this and had tried to help her out as much as possible. He puffed his cigarette. "As leaders of Genin groups, we've got to choose whether or not our team members are qualified for the exam."

"Oh," Kurenai said. She thought about her team. _They're ready,_ she told herself with confidence.

Kakashi had remained silent even though the other Jounins were talking amongst themselves. _If I do, I must enter all three of them,_ he thought. _Sasuke and Naruto can do it, if they don't kill each other first. They've gone through all the necessary training, but Sora…_ He closed his eyes guiltily. _I don't know if she can control herself without me there to watch over her and I don't want that darkness that I felt to touch her again._ He knew he was being selfish. He wanted Sora to be protected at all times from this horror. _She is ready to go…her technique is faultless and her physical attacks exactly complimentary. She uses her Chakra to perfection and she can think up strategies for almost any kind of attack used against her. She would pass this easily if it weren't for this…thing inside her._

Sora had gone home but only stayed long enough to shower and wrap her hand with some bandages. She was restless and had too much on her mind to just sit around doing nothing. _I need to get out of here,_ she thought to herself. She left her apartment quickly and went out to the garden. Usually the peaceful splashes from the fountain and the fragrance of the flowers calmed her down if she was stressed but it didn't work this time. She sat on the fountain and looked emptily at the water. The ripples chased each other back and forth across the surface looking happy together.

She sighed as she turned her head away only to find Naruto entering the garden with his head buried in a technique scroll. That brought a slight smile to her face. _Imagine that, _she said to herself trying to lighten her own spirits as she had done so many times before._ Naruto's actually studying up?_ "Hello, Naruto-kun," she said.

Naruto's head shot up with his eyes bugged out. The scroll flipped up in the air in a tangled mess. He had obviously not noticed her. "WHOA!" he said catching the scroll. "Sora-chan! I didn't see you there," he said fumbling with the scroll.

Sora smiled. _He can always make me smile,_ she thought thankful that she had company. "Sorry," she said. "I was in complete shock at the sight of you reading so I had to say something."

"Ha ha, very funny," he said rolling his eyes. He couldn't get the scroll straightened out. "What's wrong with this thing?" he yelled in frustration.

"Naruto, you're going to rip it!" Sora said getting up. She grabbed the scroll from him and began to gently roll it up. "Sometimes gentleness and patience are the keys to succeeding." She knew that Naruto had very little of either of these qualities.

Naruto snorted a little as she handed him back a perfectly rolled up scroll. "Yeah, well, I'm gentle!" he said indignantly.

Sora patted him on the shoulder and then something caught her eye behind him. Her expression changed to that of surprise.

"What, Sora?" Naruto said turning around to run his face smack into the chest of someone else. He got bumped back. "What the?" Naruto looked at the guy. "Who the heck are you?" he blurted out in irritation. "And what are you doing standing right behind me?"

"Well that's kind of rude, twerp," the guy said. He had on a sort of brown attire with a hood that gave him two ears on the top sides of his head. He had magenta patterns of kabuki paint lining his face and his eyes seemed a little unpleasant. He pushed past Naruto and extended his hand to Sora. "And who might you be?" he asked in a polite and sort of seductive way.

"Uh…" Sora was shocked at the sight of him but also that he was able to get so close to them without her even noticing. "Uh, Sora…" she said uneasily taking his hand.

He brought her hand to his lips and gently kissed it making Sora feel a little more than uncomfortable. "My name is Kankuro," he said not letting go of her hand as he flashed a smile.

He wasn't ugly but there was just about him that made Sora really nervous. "Uh…"

Naruto was fuming. "HEY! WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?" He grabbed Sora's hand from Kankuro and stood in front of Sora protectively.

"You're even ruder than I thought," he said getting annoyed. "I hate annoying short guys like you. Maybe I should teach you a lesson or two, huh?" He lowered something that he was carrying on his back.

"Bring it," Naruto spat.

"Naruto-" "Kankuro-" Sora and another female voice said at the same time. "Huh?" Sora said in surprise. She looked up to see a blond girl with a huge metal slab behind her back. She had her hand firmly placed on Kankuro's arm.

"What do you think you're doing?" the blond girl asked Kankuro.

"Nothing that concerns you, Temari," Kankuro said putting the thing back on his back.

The girl turned to Sora and Naruto. "Sorry, he can be an ass sometimes," she said in a less-than-friendly tone.

Sora was even more freaked. _What? I couldn't sense her either! Two of them?_

Naruto looked at their forehead protectors. They didn't have the symbol of the leaf on them. "Hey, you're not from around here! What's your business?"

"What? We're your guests," Kankuro said coolly. He was getting more and more annoyed at Naruto by the second.

"Guests? For what?" Naruto asked still standing protectively in front of Sora.

"Naruto, we should be more polite," Sora whispered to him. She didn't like the looks of the two of them. They felt really powerful.

"Hey, if they're intruding our village and their from another tribe then-"

"We're not intruding, dobe, we're here for the Chuunin exam," Temari said.

"Chuunin exam?" Naruto said confused.

"It's the exam you take to get from a Genin level to a Chuunin level," Sora explained quietly. _He's a little too dense sometimes…_

"Really?" Naruto said all of a sudden excited to no end. "Then I'm going to take it and become a Chuunin!"

"Uh, Naruto, I think you have to be recommended by Kakashi-sensei first," Sora said.

Naruto became slightly depressed. "What?" he complained.

"So I take it you're both Konoha Genins," Kankuro said to Sora with the same seductive smile.

Sora smiled uneasily. "Yeah," she said. "And you're from?"

"The Hidden Village of the Sand," Kankuro said with a hint of pride in his voice. "Country of the Wind."

Sora's eyes widened. _I've been there before…but not to the village…_ she thought.

"But enough about me, what about you?" Kankuro asked approaching again. He seemed to forget that Naruto was even there.

Temari sighed but didn't do anything.

Naruto was once again shoved out of the way. "HEY! WHAT THE HECK? YOU CAN'T JUST SHOVE ME LIKE THAT!"

Kankuro stopped. He looked really pissed off. "Guys like you annoy the hell out of me," he said darkly. Then he suddenly grabbed Naruto's shirt and held him up. "There's only so much I can take."

"Kankuro, I'm not going to be responsible for your actions," Temari said with a non-caring sigh.

"Naruto!" Sora gasped. Then in a flash a rock came out of no where and hit Kankuro's arm with such speed and force that he dropped Naruto on the ground in shock and a bit of pain.

"You really shouldn't pick on weaker guys, you know?" Sasuke was sitting on a branch of a tree with his back against the trunk. He was tossing another rock up and catching it lazily as he spoke. "Lay off of Sora," he said with his tone becoming dark.

Kankuro rubbed his arm and winced a bit. _Who is this guy? How did he sneak up on us like that? _

"Or I'll come down there and teach you a lesson myself." Sasuke crushed the rock he was tossing to dust with his bare hand.

_He's handsome,_ Temari thought blushing. She couldn't stop staring but he wasn't looking at her.

"There will be no need for that," came a soft but strong voice.

_What?_ Sasuke thought as he looked to the side. He saw a guy with red hair and pale green eyes standing upside-down on the branch next to him. He was carrying a gourd on his back. _How did he…? I didn't even notice him!_

"We should go," the mysterious redhead said. He disappeared in a cloud of sand and reappeared in between Kankuro and Temari. He was shorter than the other two but seemed to be the leader of the group. As he walked the others followed.

Sasuke jumped down from the branch in front of Sora. "Hey," he called. "What's your name?"

Temari immediately turned around with a blush. "Huh? Me?" she said cutely.

"No, the one with the gourd," Sasuke said.

Temari's face fell.

"Gaara," the redhead said turning around. "And I am interested in you." No one was sure whether he was looking at Sasuke or Sora.

Sasuke noticed Gaara's gaze and narrowed his eyes. "My name's Uchiha Sasuke," Sasuke said before Sora could say anything.

Gaara turned back around but gave Sora a look that was specifically for her eyes alone as he did. She felt extremely tense as his gaze passed over her. _He's creepy,_ she thought.

The Sand Genins walked off leaving the trio behind. Naruto jumped up from the ground. He was fuming. _What? Why is everything always about Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke? _He glared at Sasuke. "I'm going to enter the Chuunin exam and beat you!" he yelled in Sasuke's face.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow and said nothing.

"Didn't you hear me?" he yelled. He moved to grab Sasuke by the shoulders and shake him into oblivion but Sasuke was too quick.

He grabbed Naruto arms and shoved him forcefully to the side making him lose his balance and Naruto came crashing to the ground.

Sora glanced at the two with slight annoyance. _This Chuunin exam is only going to make their rivalry worse,_ she thought. Naruto sprang back to his feet shouting and glaring at Sasuke. Sora quickly stepped in between the two. "Please," she said softly grabbing both of their hands. "Let's just go home ok?"

Sasuke nodded and relaxed his fist. Naruto did the same but still tried to stare a hole through Sasuke. Sora sighed as she let their hands go. _I need to relax,_ she thought as she rubbed her temples. Something was up with Kakashi. She had seen the eagle as she walked home. _I wonder if it has to do with the Chuunin exam,_ she thought as she looked up at the sky and the unusual amount of birds of prey in it.

"Now I will hear the recommendations from any of you who think your subordinates are ready for the Chuunin exam," the Hokage said smoking his pipe. "We'll start with the ones with rookies."

Asuma stepped up. "I recommend Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, and Akimichi Chouji from my team."

Kurenai also stepped up. "I recommend Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino from my team."

Kakashi had made his decision as well. "I recommend Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, and Kousetsu Sora." He smiled to himself remembering how he knew Sora had just made up her last name on the spot. _Snow, _he thought. _How appropriate._

Iruka-sensei was also there and he jumped up in surprise. "Excuse me, Hokage-sama!" he exclaimed hastily. "This is absurd! These kids were all once my students and they are definitely not ready to face up to the challenges of the Chuunin exam! They're just rookies!"

"That's right," Gai, another Jounin who considered himself Kakashi's arch-rival. "I even made my team wait a year before entering the Chuunin exam. You shouldn't be so hasty, Kakashi."

Kakashi looked at both of them. "I stay by my decision," he said crossing his arms. _I'm going to regret this…_

"As do I," said Kurenai. Asuma nodded in agreement.

"But-" Iruka started to say.

"It's ok, Iruka-sensei," the Hokage said smoking his pipe thoughtfully. "Let them go. This will be the first time in nine years since rookies have been entered in the Chuunin exam. It could prove very interesting."

Iruka wanted to say something but couldn't since it was after all the Hokage who finalized it.

"Go and inform your students to enter their forms for the exam, but Kakashi-sensei, stay a while," the Hokage said. The two other Jounins bowed and disappeared.

"Hokage-sama," Iruka started.

He held up a hand. "Don't worry, Iruka-sensei," he said reassuringly. "Have faith in this group. I think they might do very well."

Kakashi stood patiently waiting as the other Jounins recommended their teams. Of course his arch-rival Gai recommended his team with the utmost confidence. "I guess our students are going to continue our little rivalry eh, Kakashi?" Gai said giving him his shiny smile and a thumbs-up sign.

"Huh? What'd you say?" Kakashi wasn't paying attention to him at all.

_OH KAKASHI! YOU'RE STYLE, IT'S TOO HIP! That's what makes you the worthy adversary,_ Gai thought dramatically as he grabbed his bobbed cut hair.

Soon all the Jounins left and Kakashi and the Hokage were alone. "Kakashi," the Hokage said puffing his pipe slowly. "I need to talk to you about your student, Sora."

_He didn't call her by her last name? He must know then,_ Kakashi thought. "Yes. What about, Hokage-sama?"

"I've been watching her closely through my orb," he said closing his eyes in thought. "You must have noticed by now that she is dangerous and not just to herself." He opened his eyes. "I'm not fully certain of how much power she holds, but it is beyond our level of understanding at this point. Her Chakra seems to open a portal inside of her that holds a powerful and dangerous being. That is what I'm concerned about. This being's power does not flow from Chakra but from another source entirely."

Kakashi looked at him wishing all he said wasn't true but knowing everything was. "Yes," he said bowing his head slightly to avoid eye contact.

"I have no choice but to seal off her Chakra for now, maybe forever if need be. She is still very young and cannot control more than 3 percent of her Chakra. If she exceeds even a little bit, this monster will break free and kill her and who knows what else it might do," the Hokage said seriously. He knew that Kakashi had feelings for her even though he tried not to show it. _I don't blame you either,_ he thought. _She is the most beautiful person I've ever seen in all my years._ He smiled at his perverseness in his old age but kept his face straight on the outside. "I know you care for her, Kakashi," he started slowly. Kakashi stiffened. "It seems as though many cannot help but fall for her beauty, but we must protect our village. She is a potential threat."

"I know," Kakashi said shortly.

"In the sealing process, she must learn the feeling of dying. You know this."

"Yes." He was afraid of this happening to her. _I don't want you to feel anymore pain than you already do…but this is not my decision…or yours._

"In order for your team to enter the Chuunin exam, you know she will have to participate," the Hokage continued while puffing his pipe again. "Are you sure you want to go through with it?"

"That decision should be made by her," Kakashi said. "She has the right to know."

"Of course," the Hokage said nodding. "Come to the Lake of the Moon near midnight. If she survives, which I'm sure she will, you can take her back to her apartment."

Kakashi nodded his head and disappeared.

The Hokage sat deep in thought. "If she survives…" he trailed off. _There is more to the human part of her I'm sure, but I've not heard of any demon sealings inside a human besides Naruto._

The next day, the three Genins woke up bright and early for training as usual, well, two of them did anyway, and they met on the bridge. Sora and Sasuke had to wait patiently for the others to arrive since they got there first. "Good morning, Sasuke-kun," Sora said as he approached.

He nodded in acknowledgment. _She seems to have gotten so distant from me lately,_ he thought as he continued to look at her. He loved the way the rising sun shined through her gorgeous red hair. He loved how her perfectly curved body rested against the railing of the bridge. He loved how her captivating eyes stared at the ground as her delicate fingers played with a strand of her hair. He stepped forward and brushed the hair away. "Sora," he said taking her hand in his.

Sora gasped slightly but didn't look up. "Yes, Sasuke?"

"Tell me what's wrong," he said directly.

_How does he see right through me all the time?_ Sora thought a little exasperated. She kept her gaze down and looked to the side.

Sasuke put his other hand under her chin and lifted her head so that he could see her eyes. "Sora, tell me." His voice was soft but absolute.

Sora sighed. "I…" She tried to look away but couldn't tear her gaze from the sea of blackness in his eyes. "It's the Chuunin exam," she said finally moving her gaze down.

"What about it?"

"It's just that…I know that Kakashi-sensei's gone easy on me and well, I think he thinks I'm not ready to move on yet," she said.

Sasuke snaked his arm around Sora's back moving closer. "How can he think that?" he asked. "You're strong. I've seen you in training. I can feel it." He stroked her cheek.

"It…It just seems like he works you two to death and then ignores me," Sora said feeling uncomfortable. She tried to move away but Sasuke held her fast. "S-Sasuke?"

Sasuke placed his lips on her cheek and brought her into a hug.

Sora gasped as she felt their bodies meet. Then she sensed someone approaching. "Sasuke, someone's coming," she whispered and pushed him away.

Sasuke let himself be pushed away although he wanted to stay like that with Sora forever. _I don't care if anyone knows I love her, but why? Why does she push me away? What is she afraid of?_

Naruto approached slowly with his hands in his pockets and a blank expression on his face. His eyes were sort of glazed over and he wasn't exactly watching where he was going but just kept putting one foot in front of the other. He hadn't gotten any sleep the night before since he was so excited about the Chuunin exam. He had stayed up all night trying to think up ways to convince Kakashi to recommend him to take the test.

_What happened to him?_ Sora thought as she stared at his slowly approaching figure. _He looks like a zombie._ Sasuke just gave him a cold glance.

"Mornin'," he said sounding half-dead.

"Uh, hi, Naruto?" Sora said poking his forehead to keep him from falling over. "Are you ok?"

"Oh, yeah," he said with his eyes beginning to droop. "Fine, absolutely…" He had closed his eyes and began to snore lightly while standing.

Sora looked at him completely amazed that he could sleep while standing up. _Weird._

Sasuke leaned against the rail next to Sora ignoring the strange scene in front of him. _Where is Kakashi?_ he asked himself annoyed. _Why is he always late?_ He looked at the sky. The sun was already pretty high in the sky even though it was still early morning. Then he sensed someone. _Oh, shit..._

"SASUKE-KUN!" a high pitched girly voice pierced the air.

"Holy crap," Sora said covering her ears. "What was that?"

Sasuke glanced in dread and annoyance towards the sound. It was Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji. They had been passing by to go to their meeting place when Ino spotted Sasuke. She was running like mad towards them. "SASUKE-KUN! IT'S BEEN SOOO LONG!" she swooned. She knocked the standing/sleeping Naruto over on the ground and pushed herself in between Sasuke and Sora. She wrapped her arms around Sasuke and gave him a huge hug. "Did you miss me?" she asked leaning her head on his shoulder.

Sasuke hadn't moved at all. He just stood there in silent irritation with his arms crossed. He didn't even look at her.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun! I missed you of course! That's what girlfriends are for!" she nuzzled him even tighter than before.

Sora had gotten off the rail before Ino could push her. _Oh, it's her,_ she thought. She looked at Naruto on the ground still asleep and then back at Sasuke and Ino. She smiled. _Ha, I bet Sasuke's going to burst anytime now,_ she said to herself. She made a small bet with herself and gave Sasuke 3 minutes to lose his cool. Then she turned around and saw Shikamaru and the ever-eating Chouji. "Oh, Shikamaru!" Sora said. She hadn't seen him ever since her first day at Konoha. They had both been too busy with training.

"Sora, long time no see," Shikamaru said with one of his rare smiles. "How are things?"

"Great! And you?"

"Not too bad considering…" He nodded his head in the direction of the blabbering Ino and the getting-ever-irritated-by-the-moment Sasuke.

Sora laughed. "I didn't know he had someone so dedicated to him," she said sarcastically.

"Oh, he's got most if not all the girls in Konoha swooning over him," Shikamaru said with a slight sigh of annoyance. "If you'd have been here when we were all at the academy, you wouldn't think twice about it when you saw it. It almost makes me feel sorry for the guy."

"Yeah," Sora said looking back at Sasuke. He was looking straight ahead concentrating as hard as he could on a seemingly very interesting pebble on the bridge. She caught his eye and waved in a friendly, joking way. _Two minutes and counting,_ she thought as she smiled.

_What? Is she talking to Shikamaru?_ Sasuke thought as he tried to keep himself from killing Ino. He stood up and removed Ino's arms from around him. "Excuse me," he said coldly.

"Sasuke-kun," Ino whined. "Where are you going?"

_Away from you. _

"Sasuke-kun!"

He kept walking.

"So how many missions have you been on?" Shikamaru asked.

"Oh, I don't know," Sora answered. "It seems like a lot, but I can't remember. You?"

"Maybe 20 some or 30 some," he answered. "They've all been like D ranked missions so it hasn't been too exciting."

Sora decided against telling him about their mission to the Country of the Wave. "Yeah, but I heard that the Chuunin exam is coming up soon. Do you think your sensei's going to enter you in?"

"The Chuunin exam? Eh, I dunno," he said. "It seems kind of early to be thinking about that, isn't it?"

"Maybe, but I think Kakashi-sensei's going to at least put Sasuke in."

"Don't you want to enter?"

"Sort of but I don't know if I'm ready yet."

"You?" Shikamaru asked in surprise. "Last time I checked, which was a while ago...but anyway, you were pretty much a Chuunin or even Jounin level ninja already. With the training now you must be a lot better than before!"

_Better? Well, I found out I can't use my Chakra in battle or I'll go berserk. My sensei goes easy on me in training probably cuz he thinks I'm weak and control my own powers…_ "I don't know about that," she said looking down.

_Hm, strange,_ he thought. _She's much stronger now, I can sense it. Why is she doubting herself? _

"Excuse me," Sasuke said butting in the conversation. "I think your sensei's here."

Sure enough Asuma-sensei was there smoking a cigarette. "I thought I told you three to meet me at the tower at 8," he said. He was surprised that when he got there his students weren't there. They were all usually pretty punctual.

"Oh, sorry, Sensei," Shikamaru said lazily putting his hands behind his head. "We got a little side tracked."

Ino had now run up to the group and was trying to hold onto Sasuke's arm which he tried to keep close to his body away from her. "Sensei, you can't expect me to just pass by Sasuke-kun after being apart from him for sooo long!"

"Uh-huh," Asuma said with a sigh. _Maybe I shouldn't tell them about my recommendations…_ He glanced at Chouji who had been eating potato chips the entire time. He sweat-dropped. _Yeah…_ "Let's go," he said. "We're interrupting Kakashi-sensei's group here."

Sora laughed. "Oh, he's not here yet," she said.

_Figures…_ "Oh," Asuma said. "I thought maybe today he would come on time for once."

"Why?" Sora asked.

_Whoops! Let that slip._ "Uh-uh, nothing!" he said. "All right guys, we need to go now. Ino, let go of Sasuke."

Ino grudgingly let go and sauntered over to her group. She shouldered Sora as she passed her.

"Excuse me," Sora said sarcastically under her breath.

"Sasuke's mine, got it?" Ino growled as she smiled sweetly back at Sasuke who wouldn't look at her.

"Sure," she said rolling her eyes. _What a jerk._

Ino shot Sora a death glare.

"Hey, Sora," Shikamaru said with a wave. "See ya around, ok?"

"Yeah," Sora said smiling again.

Asuma's team left. "What was that all about?" Sasuke asked Sora after they were out of sight.

"What?" Sora said not quite sure what he was talking about. "Ino?"

"No, Shikamaru."

"What about him?"

Sasuke didn't answer. He wanted to tell her to stay away from any guy but him but he held his tongue.

"Are you jealous?" Sora asked in joking tone.

_You have no idea._ "No."

"Come on," she chided. "Why would you be so up tight about Shika-kun if you weren't jealous?"

_Shika-kun?_ "I'm not."

"You know, Sasuke," Sora said. "You and Ino…" She gave a seductive smile. _He's going to kill me,_ she thought as she turned her back to him and tried to walk back to where they were originally waiting for their sensei.

Sasuke snapped. He grabbed Sora around the waist from behind and pulled her back. "There is nothing between me and Ino," he said in a low voice next to her ear.

"Sasuke," Sora said trying playfully to get free. "Come on, I was joking! I know you'd never go for a slut like her."

Sasuke just held her tighter pulling their bodies together. He put his nose in the crook of her neck and inhaled her scent. _She smells so good…_ he thought as he nuzzled her neck.

Sora was getting uncomfortable now. "Sasuke," she said suddenly turning sideways putting her shoulder between them.

Sasuke let her go. "Sorry," he said shortly and walked passed her to the middle of the bridge.

Sora sighed. _Sasuke…_

Then Naruto stirred on the ground. He opened his eyes and sat up on the ground in a sort of daze. "Wha…what just happened?"

Sora looked at him with a sort of pity smile. "Well, you kind of got pushed over while you were sleeping standing up." She offered him her hand to help him stand. He took it. "How did you manage to fall asleep on your feet? What were you doing last night that was so tiring?"

Naruto immediately began to perk up. "I was busy all night trying to find a way to get Kakashi-sensei enter us all into the Chuunin exam!"

"Oh, uh, all of us?" Sora asked slowly putting a small space in between each word.

"Yeah! Then we could all become Chuunins together and Team 7 would never die!" Naruto said fully awake. "Where's Sensei? I've got to see if he's gonna do it or not!"

"Uh, he's not here ye-"

"Good morning, my young and, uh," Kakashi glanced at the scowling Sasuke, "ever so lively students!" he finished as he appeared on top of the entrance to the bridge out of nowhere.

_Perfect timing as usual, _Sora thought rolling her eyes.

"Huh? No return greeting?" Kakashi asked acting like he was emotionally hurt. He jumped down easily to the ground. "How rude."

"Uh, GOOD MORNING, SENSEI!" Naruto said running to him. "You know, I heard that there was some sort of exam thing going on around here and well, shouldn't we as responsible students go and take the exam?" He smiled as widely as he could.

"Exam?" Kakashi said playing dumb. _So they already know._ "What exam?"

"WHAT?" Naruto said in disbelief. "You mean you don't know about the CHUUNIN EXAM? I mean you see all these weirdo people from other countries crawling all over the place and everything! How can you not know blah, blah, blah…"

_Not too perceptive are we?_ Kakashi thought as he sighed. "Naruto," he said in an attempt to stop him. No use. "Naruto."

"BLAH, BLAH, BLAH I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DIDN'T NOTICE BLAH, BLAH, BLAH…"

Sora walked up behind Naruto and clasped a hand over his mouth.

"Mmmf, mmmf, mmmf, muh?" Naruto finally stopped talking.

"Thank you, Sora," Kakashi said putting his hands in his pockets looking for something. "Now where did I put those things?" He kept rummaging around in his pockets. "Hmmm…"

Sora and Naruto looked at him strangely.

"Aha," he said pulling out three slips of paper. "Now, who can guess what these things are?" He waved them around slightly in the air.

"Uh…" Naruto was completely lost.

Sora had a suspicion. _Three of them? Is he out of his mind? _ _Those can't be the-_

"Chuunin exam applications," Sasuke said shortly with his eyes closed. He hadn't moved from his spot.

"Oh, very good, Sasuke," Kakashi said smiling. "I recommended all three of you to participate in the Chuunin exam coming up in a few days."

"DAYS?" Naruto nearly shouted.

"Why else would the Genins from the other countries already be here, baka," Sasuke said.

Naruto scowled at Sasuke. _Hmpf,_ Naruto thought. _This means I'll really have to shape up and train hard every day! I can't lose to Sasuke._ He immediately changed his attitude. "Wow, Sensei!" he said loudly to annoy Sasuke. "You recommended us? That's awesome! Now we can all become Chuunins, no problem!" He gave a thumbs-up and flashed a smile.

Sasuke slightly opened his eyes to stare at Naruto with annoyance. _How can this guy be so dense?_

Kakashi laughed. _Heh, he's overconfident. But then again, so is Sasuke, as he always is._ He looked at Sasuke. He had a raised, twitching eyebrow while staring at the overexcited Naruto.

Sora was the only one out of the group feeling worried. _Oh no,_ she thought. _The Chuunin exam already? I mean, I would've felt ready to take it BEFORE I GOT TO KONOHA! Why is my Chakra so strange all of a sudden? Is there something about this place? Is this the reason why Father wanted me to become a ninja here? _She didn't realize her worried expression was so obvious.

Kakashi glanced at her. _I know she's worried. I am too…_ He put an inconspicuous hand on Sora's shoulder. "So," he said getting the other two's attentions. "You three have until tomorrow to turn in your applications. Remember, you don't have to apply if you don't want to." Naruto and Sasuke nodded their heads.

Sora jumped slightly at her sensei's hand on her shoulder. She glanced up at him but quickly looked away seeing the other two guys' eyes on her. She gave them a confident smile but inside she felt horrible. _Oh crap…_

"This is soooo cool!" Naruto said scanning the paper. "Huh? Oh, Sensei, here it says we need an individual picture and then a team picture on the forms. We haven't taken a team picture yet, have we?" He tried to think back.

"Oh, no we haven't," Kakashi said smiling in his hidden way. "I guess we should go do that right now."

Sora immediately jumped. "Now? But, but, I mean it's not like I'm obsessed with how I look but for a life-long picture of our Genin team, don't you think we should at least wash up a bit?" She realized that it was still morning and they hadn't done much yet but she didn't want to look like a slob in her team photo.

_You of all people don't need to make yourself more beautiful than you already are,_ Sasuke thought as he looked at her. Kakashi was thinking along the same lines.

"Aw, Sora-chan," Naruto said nudging her a little with his elbow. He had his sly grin on. "You want to look good for me?" He was making fun of her because he thought the same as the other two but he couldn't miss the opportunity of annoying Sora.

Sora sweat-dropped. "No," she said embarrassed. She pushed him away as she blushed. _Naruto I'm going to kill you later._ "Just give me ten minutes-" _Ten minutes…_ The words stuck to her. She thought back to when they were in Tazuna's house and Sasuke gave her ten minutes to get ready that one morning. She blushed even more and glanced at Sasuke who, by his expression, was thinking of the same thing.

"Yeah," Sasuke said. "We'll give you ten minutes." He smirked.

Sora hated that smirk. She nodded her head uncomfortably and gave a shaky smile. _I'm going to kill Sasuke later, too, _she decided as she turned to walk to her apartment.

_She remembers it all, _he thought.

Kakashi noticed all the little glances between Sasuke and Sora and felt the pang of jealousy again but he kept his nonchalant look on his face. _Dammit, Kakashi!_ he swore at himself.

Naruto was, as usual, completely oblivious to everything. "Whoa, Sasuke, when did you get to be so nice?" he asked stupidly.

Sasuke ignored him and started walking towards Sora's apartment to wait for her. Kakashi grabbed Naruto who was still scratching his head at Sasuke's odd behavior and they were off.

Once she knew she was out of sight of the others, Sora sprinted to her apartment and got there in no time. She ran in and closed the door as quickly as she could. _I'm not gonna let him in here,_ she thought as she brushed her hair furiously. _He thinks he's got me, huh? Well...let's see who's got who!_ She decided after her hair was neater to "dress up" a bit. _Hehehe,_ she thought as she slipped out of her ninja outfit. _This'll be nice._ She picked out a nicer dress that wasn't exactly formal but it fitted her figure very well. It was a deep red color that accented her hair perfectly and had a collar but it extended down but was still modest. It was sleeveless and had silver linings around the arms, the rims of the slits, and the bottom of the dress that extended all the way to the floor. The slits on the sides went halfway up her thighs showing off her legs. The silver linings extended into her dress forming the symbol of her old village, an elaborate snowflake. She put on a simple silver choker necklace as a final touch. With a final glance in the mirror, she checked the time. It had been 9 minutes and 34 seconds. _HAH! Beat that time!_ She put her forehead protector around her arm as she usually did and opened her door to find all three guys waiting.

Sasuke was about to sneak into her apartment because he had been hoping she would take longer than ten minutes but then the door opened. His mouth fell open. He was glued to the spot. Naruto's eyes were bugged out and his mouth had fallen open as well.

Kakashi, who had been reading his Icha Icha Paradise book looked up and almost dropped the book. His eyes widened as he saw Sora. _Is it possible that she could be even more beautiful?_ He tried to breathe but couldn't. _God, Sora, you could kill a man by just letting him look at you!_

_Sora…_ Sasuke was at a loss of what to think. He was too shocked at her beauty. _I mean you always looked like a goddess but…_ He felt his eyes take a sweep over her body.

Naruto was the first to snap out of the trance. "Sora," he said wiping away some drool. "You are one sexy lady!"

Sora, who was already annoyed at them all for staring slapped Naruto across the face. "Excuse me, but shouldn't we be going now?"

Naruto whined but inside he didn't care. To him, it was as if she kissed his cheek. "Ow, geez, Sora-chan that really hurt," he complained as he rubbed his cheek.

Sora rolled her eyes at him. Kakashi was next to snap out of the trance. "Uh, sorry there, Sora," he said putting a hand behind his head. "Hehe, you do look very nice, but, uh, yeah, we should go." He forced himself to turn and start walking. _You pervert, _he said to himself.

Naruto gave Sora a last smirk and dodged another slap as he ran after Kakashi. Sasuke was still entranced and Sora of course noticed. _Hah, _she thought triumphantly. _Beat that you jerk!_ She smiled and walked up to him getting very close. "What are you waiting for?" she whispered softly in his ear.

Sasuke was about to explode if he didn't do something. _What is she doing?_ he thought as he tried to breathe. She was so close, her head was right next to his ear and he couldn't move. _Sora…_ He finally moved to grab her waist and pull her closer but Sora was expecting this and moved gracefully away.

"Come on," she said coaxingly as she turned slowly and walked away. _Hehe! Oh the agony!_ she thought evilly as she saw pure torture in Sasuke's eyes. _He deserves it._

Sasuke began to breathe heavily. His heart was beating a million miles a minute. He knew that Kakashi and Naruto weren't far off but he wanted to take Sora right then and there. _Oh god Sora…_ He managed to walk forward but kept a distance away from Sora so that he could control himself better.

Once at the photographer's shop, they decided to take their picture in the field where they had first trained with the bells. It was perfect weather with a slight breeze to add to the perfection. The photographer was an older gentleman but he couldn't help but gape at Sora when he saw her. As the group situated themselves for the photo, Sasuke on the left, Sora in the middle, Naruto on the right, and Kakashi behind them, the photographer began talking to Sora about how she should situate herself. He was planning on taking a few shots for himself.

Sasuke was about to kill the man but Kakashi spoke first. "Can we just get this done with?" he said impatiently. He was having a hard time just keeping his hands off of Sora who was directly in front of him. The three Genins looked up at him in shock. He was usually really laid back and lazy.

The photographer quickly went back to his camera. _Heh, this is the Copy Ninja. I don't want to mess with him, _he thought as he hid his embarrassed face behind the camera. "Okay, well, Sensei," he said carefully. "Why don't you put your hands on the two boys' shoulders?"

Kakashi obliged with a much more accommodating attitude now that the guy was further away from Sora. He was back to his lazy manner and leaned down a little to put his head nearer Sora.

Sasuke refused to smile and just crossed his arms to keep them from wandering over to a certain female next to him which made him look even more sullen than he usually did. Naruto was completely into it. He flashed his famous smile did a thumbs up sign. Sora smiled confidently looking like an angel from heaven.

"Ok, one, two-" Click.

"Huh?"

"Three. Now usually teams want photos of just the Genins in one and then a separate photo of the sensei with each of his students," he said hoping to make more doubles of Sora's pictures. "Did you guys want to order that?"

Before any of the guys could object, Sora said, "Sure!" She never had a picture of anyone from her village, not even her father so she always kept pictures of people she was closer to like all of her previous senseis and friends from other countries.

"Ok then! First we'll have you three Genins."

Naruto gave Sasuke a glare. _Heh, I'm not going to let him get in the good spot,_ he thought.

Sasuke hated pictures. _What did I do to deserve this?_ He sighed and put his hands in his pockets.

Since no one else had an opinion, Sora wanted to have the Genin picture on the bridge where they met everyday. The water was crystal clear blue and a few flower petals began to float through the air since it was spring time. Sora stood at one of the railings that showed the forest of blooming trees behind her. "How about here?" she asked as the photographer clicked an unexpected picture of her. "Huh?"

"Hey, what was that all about?" Naruto asked annoyed at the photographer whom he had noticed was watching Sora like a hawk.

"Oh, it was just the perfect opportunity!" he said trying to sound like a professional artist with an inspiration.

_Yeah, right,_ Sasuke thought darkly as he walked over stood next to Sora protectively.

"Wow, Sasuke," Sora said jokingly. "I didn't know you liked pictures."

"I don't," he said shortly. Sora laughed to herself.

Naruto rushed up to them positioning himself on the other side of Sora. "Heh, how should we pose?" he asked trying to get her attention away from Sasuke. He draped an arm around her shoulders smiling cheesily.

Sora didn't push his arm off amazingly. She was enjoying Sasuke's torment. "Whatever you guys want," she said.

Sasuke was about to stab and then pound Naruto into powder but he refrained.

Naruto smiled even bigger. "Then," he said as he pulled Sora closer and did a gun sign with his other hand. Sora laughed.

Sasuke couldn't keep his arm from going around Sora's waist. _He can't have her!_ he thought viciously. He pulled Sora closer to him. The photographer saw the opportunity and clicked. Naruto and Sasuke didn't notice. They were still holding onto Sora determined to keep her in their grasps.

_That bastard, _Naruto thought. He was certainly not going to let go. He glared at Sasuke. Sasuke glared right back at him and their gazes locked in an electric stare. Sora thought she could have some fun with this and didn't do anything. The two boys kept getting closer and closer to Sora but never kept their eyes off each other. The photographer kept clicking away. Then Sora moved suddenly but subtly and the two boys lost their balance and stumbled forward. Sora moved backwards a little as the other two fell. Then, as if it was planned, the photographer clicked.

It was an odd picture. The two boys each had their own little expression of shock and surprise as they were stumbling forward and Sora was behind them laughing. In the next spilt second, the two boys had bonked heads. "Ow," Naruto whined as he fell back. He rubbed his head. "What the heck?"

Sasuke kept his balance but was fuming at Naruto and Sora. _She thinks she can torture me like this? Well, I'll just have to…_ He smiled evilly.

"Naruto-kun!" Sora said not meaning for them to bonk heads or fall. "Are you ok?" She helped him up.

_Of course…_Sasuke growled as he saw their hands meet.

"Hehe," Naruto said embarrassedly. "I'm absolutely fine!" he said as he turned red.

Sora was about to say something but the photographer wanted to get on with the sensei pictures. "Ok, let's get Kakashi-sensei again and find a suitable place for the last pictures."

Kakashi was nearby and of course reading to try and get his mind off of Sora. He was sitting under a tree when the others found him. "Oh? Done already?" he asked lazily avoiding Sora's eyes.

"Yup," Naruto said. "Now for my picture, I want to ride on your shoulders, Sensei!"

"Uh, no."

"Aw, come on!"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Pret-"

"Will you shut up?" Sasuke interrupted directing the "you" at Naruto. "I'll go first." He stepped forward and faced the camera. "Whenever you're ready."

"Ok," the photographer said. "Smile?"

That only made Sasuke scowl more.

Kakashi laughed in his amused way and put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder and the other in his pocket. He smiled behind his cloth. The photographer took the picture. As soon as they were done Naruto, who had sneaked up the tree behind them jumped on Kakashi's shoulders making the unsuspecting Jounin stumble forward a little. "WOOHOO!" Naruto yelled as he winked at the camera. The photographer apparently had really good reflexes and was able to catch it on film.

Kakashi picked Naruto off of his shoulders and dropped him on the ground. "Don't worry, your punishment is coming soon," he said in his quiet threatening manner.

Naruto couldn't help but laugh even though he knew that Kakashi was probably serious. "I'm going to frame that one!" he said as he ran behind Sora for shelter.

Kakashi just sighed and fixed his forehead protector. "Ok, one more," he said to himself out loud.

Sora stifled a giggle that was threatening to come out as she stepped up to Kakashi. "Don't worry, Sensei," she said smiling. "I'm not gonna do anything."

_You're already doing something,_ Kakashi thought as he sighed.

Sora surprised Kakashi by grabbing his hand and putting his arm around her shoulders. "Just a nice, friendly picture," she said as she put her arms around his waist and leaned her head slightly on his chest.

Kakashi was thankful for his mask because he was blushing like mad. He unconsciously drew Sora closer and put his other hand in his pocket. The two smiled at the camera and the photographer took it just when a few flower petals danced across the wind in front of them. It was a perfect picture. _Sora, if you only knew,_ Kakashi thought not wanting to let her go. Her arms felt so good around his waist. The smell of her hair was intoxicating him and he wanted to bury his face in her neck and just kiss away the worries and fears he had sensed in her earlier. But he forced himself to let go.

Sora looked over at Sasuke and Naruto. Naruto was naïve as usual. "That was a nice picture," he said going up to her.

"Thanks," she said. She could sense that Sasuke was fuming on the inside even though he looked like he didn't care on the outside and that was enough for Sora. "You've got to get me a copy of your picture," she said quietly to Naruto.

"Yeah," Naruto said proudly. "Pretty good idea huh?"

Sora laughed.

"Ahem," Kakashi said appearing right behind them. "Did I mention a punishment for you Naruto?"

Naruto's face went pale. "Uh…I've got to go now! See ya!" He took off.

"I'll be going, too, then," the photographer said. "I'll get these pictures to you in an hour or so."

"Thanks," Sora said smiling.

Kakashi turned to Sasuke. "Can you go and find Naruto please? We haven't trained yet today." He wanted to get rid of Sasuke to talk to Sora.

Sasuke glared at Kakashi but disappeared in a huff.

"Sora," Kakashi said seriously once they were alone. "I've been asked by Hokage-sama for you to see him at sunset today."

Sora gave him a questioning look. "What's this about?"

"I don't really know," Kakashi said untruthfully. _He should tell her._ "But you have to go of course."

"I know," she said. _I wonder what he wants._

Kakashi saw her worried expression and ventured to lift her head up to see her eyes. _Please, don't worry…I can't stand to see you suffer._ Their eyes locked. He couldn't look away. _Why? Why are you so captivating? Are you some beautiful demon sent here to torment me or are you an angel from heaven sent to save me from my past?_

Sora tried not to show her emotions through her eyes but she knew that Kakashi already knew her fears. He just had that talent of knowing things before you said anything.

"OW! GEEZ SASUKE! THAT HURTS!" came Naruto's voice from a distance. Kakashi took his hand away from Sora's chin and looked towards the direction of the sound to see Sasuke dragging a slightly beaten up Naruto over to them.

Sora changed her demeanor and waved at them. _Got to act normally…_ "Finally!" she called to them. "Naruto, you knew we still needed to train today, right?" She smiled teasingly.

"Heh, of course I did!" he said sheepishly as he put a hand behind his head.

Sasuke glared at Kakashi. _What did you do to her?_ He had noticed the fear in Sora's eyes before she could cover it up.

"Ok," Kakashi said going back to sensei mode. "I want you all to do 150 laps around the village, 100 push-ups, 200 sit-ups, and 100 pull-ups. Then we'll go from there."

Naruto jumped to his feet. "All right!" He was determined to beat Sasuke in everything that day. "Let's go!" He took off running as fast as he could.

Kakashi sighed. "He'll never learn, will he?" Naruto had always used up most of his energy to do the laps because he didn't get the concept of conservation.

"Oh, can I go back and change really quickly?" Sora asked. "It'll only take like 10 seconds, I promise!"

"Ok," Kakashi said, "but I expect you to be done with your warm-ups at the same time Sasuke's done."

"No problem!" Sora said as she leaped away towards her apartment. Sasuke jumped out of sight as well to start his laps.

Kakashi sat down and began to read his book again but was distracted by his thoughts. Sora, Hokage-sama, the Chuunin exam, he couldn't concentrate and decided to just meditate a while until his students were done.

Training was done for the day and a tired Sora walked down the street towards the main office building where the Hokage was. _I hope he doesn't keep me for long, _she thought as she wrapped a new cut she had gotten that day from training. _Oh, well, at least I think Kakashi-sensei was treating me a little more equally with Naruto and Sasuke today._ She went in the office and was about to tell the receptionist she was here to see the Hokage when he appeared right in front of her. _Holy crap!_ _Where'd he come from?_ "Hokage-sama!" she said.

"Sora," he said. "You must come with me." He left the building.

_What?_ Sora thought. _We're already leaving?_ She sighed but followed. They walked in silence into the forest. Finally they arrived at a lake. The water was as still as glass and the half moon was reflected perfectly in it.

"You might be wondering why I brought you here?" the Hokage finally spoke.

Sora nodded. "Yes, sir."

"I brought you here to give you a choice but either way will end up with you having to give up your Chakra powers for a time."

"What?"

"I'm sorry that it's come to this," he said turning slightly to face the lake. "I've been observing you with a very keen eye ever since you got here to Konoha. You have a tremendous amount of Chakra inside of yourself but you can only use up to about 3 percent of its real power."

_What? Only 3 percent? I've definitely used more than that before! _Sora thought.

"I don't know why, but if you exceed this 3 percent limit then something awakens inside of you. I'm not sure what it is."

_Is that why that other person inside of me came out?_ "I…I don't…" she trailed off. She wanted to somehow make sure the Hokage knew that she wasn't as weak as she thought he thought she was. (Confused?)

"I know what you're thinking," he said quietly. He watched her. "But your situation is getting to the point where it is becoming dangerous to yourself and those around you. I am forced to seal your Chakra in order to keep it from getting out of control. You will still be able to do Taijutsu but none of the other types of jutsu since they involve Chakra."

Sora was shocked. _How can he just seal my Chakra away? And the Chuunin exam…_ "I thought you said I had a choice," she said.

"Yes. Your choice is whether or not you still want to proceed with the Chuunin exam without your Chakra powers." He let his words sink in. "I'm sorry to spring this on you so suddenly but I had to wait for the half moon."

"Half moon…" Sora didn't know what he meant. _If he takes away my Chakra, I'll be at a severe disadvantage…but he's going to do it anyway so what does it matter? I have to try! I can't become a ninja if I don't! Besides,_ she gave a bitter laugh. _It'll be a challenge._ "I'm not backing out of the Chuunin exam," she said definitely.

_Hm._ The Hokage had predicted such a response. "Very well then, I can't stop you," he said. "But now I must do the seal."

Sora nodded trying to make herself trust him.

The Hokage stepped out onto the water and walked to the middle of the lake. He motioned for her to follow him. She gulped and stepped out cautiously on the water and walked behind him. Once they reached the middle, the Hokage turned to face Sora. "Close your eyes and picture the half moon in your mind," he directed her.

She did as she was told and concentrated her mind on the half moon. Then she felt his hands on her shoulders. He began to chant something but she couldn't decipher it. His Chakra began to flow down from his hands into her body. It felt strong and reassuring but at the same time dangerous.

"Keep concentrating on the half moon," the Hokage said sensing that she was being distracted by his Chakra.

Sora tightened her already shut eyes and focused everything she had on the moon. After some time, she saw the moon enlarge. It was as if she was rising up to meet it in her mind. Then her vision doubled and a mirror image of the moon appeared. It now looked like a full moon. _What is this?_ she thought as her mind reached out her hand towards the moon.

The Hokage saw her motion. _It's time._ He took his hands off of her shoulders and preformed the last few seals. He spread his arms out and extended his fingers in the air. The water of the lake began to stir around them. Sora was too engulfed in her vision of the moon to notice. Then she began to sink lower and lower into the water. The Chakra that the Hokage had put in her began to swirl and mix with her own.

Finally Sora was completely submerged in the water bringing her back to her senses. She opened her eyes. The water was wrapped around her holding her down. She panicked and started struggling to get back above the water for air but she couldn't move. She was helpless. _What the hell is he doing?_ she thought in fear.

"Focus on the moon," she heard his distant voice say.

_What is he thinking? _She struggled even more. _He's drowning me!_ She was losing air quickly. _I can't…hold it…_ She felt herself slipping in and out of consciousness. She was forced to stop struggling and let her mind go. _Is this what if feels like to die?_ she thought as she sunk deeper and deeper into the lake. Her eyes fluttered shut as she was losing air. All she could see now was the moon. The mirrored vision was still there but now she could see that the mirrored half of the moon was becoming a real half. _That's strange, _she told herself subconsciously.

The Hokage was getting ready for the final step. _I'm sorry, but this will hurt,_ he thought as he bent down and touched his hands on the surface of the water. "Chakra Moon Seal no jutsu!" he said as he released an enormous amount of Chakra into the water. Four columns of water shot up from the surface representing the four seasons. "Winter Moonshine!" One of the columns bent over and splashed down into the lake with a tremendous force. It broke through the surface and went straight for Sora.

_I'm dying…_ Sora thought as she felt her last breath leave her. _Why?_ She felt the water fill her lungs as an inexplicable burning pain overwhelmed her. She wanted to scream but had no air to. She lost all consciousness. The column of water surrounded her and then brought her shooting back up the surface. Once above water, the other columns of water fused together forming a barrier around Sora.

The Hokage stood up and walked to the shore. _My part is done,_ he thought. _Now, it's up to you._ He left.

The water slowly settled back down and the lake became still again. Sora was standing in the center. The last of the Hokage's Chakra was leaving her. The reflection of the moon in the lake was not of the half moon in the sky anymore but of a full moon and so it was to be until the seal was broken.

After a few moments of silence, Sora's eyes shot open in panic. She gasped for air and fell to her knees but realized that she was sinking. _What?_ she thought as she struggled to use her Chakra to stand on the water. _Where is…oh, right…_ She caught her breath and swam for shore. Her body was aching and didn't want to move but she finally made it to dry land. She crawled up on shore and gasped for air. _I thought I was going to die._ She collapsed on the ground. _I really thought he was going to kill me._ She tried to get up but couldn't. _I can't get home tonight that's for sure,_ she thought. She soon fell asleep on the forest floor.

Kakashi came at midnight as he was instructed and saw Sora lying on the ground still half in the water. _She's still alive!_ he thought with a sigh of relief. He jumped down next to her and picked her up. "Sora," he said softly. Her body was sopping wet. She stirred in his arms but didn't open her eyes. Kakashi leaped away to her apartment.

It was only a matter of seconds before he arrived. He found Sora's key in her pouch with her kunai knives and opened the door. As he stepped inside he knew that he was going to have to undress her and put her in some dry clothes. _Kakashi,_ he said to himself, _now is not the time to be thinking like that._ He had to use some of his Chakra to control his mind as he undressed her. He forced himself not to look. _If I truly love her then I will not take advantage of her,_ he told himself over and over. He quickly dressed her in her night clothes that he found in her closet and covered her up with her blankets.

When he was done, he sat down next to her on her bed. "Sora," he said out loud. "I know you've made your choice about the Chuunin exam." He placed a hand on her neck and lightly stroked her cheek with his thumb. "I also made a choice for you as well when I recommended you to the exam. I know I haven't been going as hard on you as the other two but now you know my reasons. You have the potential to be a great ninja and this trial will help you to overcome all your weaknesses." He stopped and ran his fingers through her hair. "I want you to be careful in this exam," he said knowing that her subconscious mind will retain what he said. "Train up your physical speed and strength to its maximum. You can pass this without your Chakra. I'm sorry that it will cause you more pain…" Then he stood up and walked to the door.

"Sensei?" he heard Sora's voice.

He turned around quickly but saw that she was still asleep. He smiled and slipped quietly out the door. He stood looking at the moon outside her apartment. He knew that he could not protect her once she stepped into the exam room even though he wanted to. His heart ached as he thought of her pain and suffering to come. _But she has made her choice,_ his mind told him.

_But it's too painful,_ his heart pleaded. _She's going to push herself to the limit physically no matter what now that she doesn't have her Chakra. She might even die._

_Trust her abilities. She'll make it through._

"Yes," he said to himself. "Yes, I have to let her go." He leaped away into the night.

The next morning Sora woke up out of habit at the crack of dawn. She cautiously moved her hand expecting a piercing pain to shoot through her arm like before but amazingly, she didn't feel a thing. "Huh?" She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed in amazement. "I feel…fine?" She got up and stretched out her arms and moved her legs. "I don't feel any different than before…" she said as she looked in the mirror. "Was I dreaming?"

She washed up in a daze and dressed herself forgetting to wonder how she'd gotten home. She grabbed her completed application form for the Chuunin exam on her way out the door. "Well," she said to herself as she locked her door. "I'll just wait and see when the time comes." Part of her knew it was foolish to try and waste Chakra for no reason outside of battles and the other part of her didn't want to find out if it was real or not for fear of it being the former, so she decided to be patient and wait until it was absolutely necessary to find out.

The applications were to be turned in at the ninja academy in room 301 as it was written on the sheet. She walked over to the school expecting to find Sasuke there waiting for her. _Of course Naruto is still probably asleep,_ she thought to herself and smiled.

Upon arriving at the school, she saw it was more crowded than she thought it would be with applicants. They all seemed to be tougher-looking, older, and somewhat intimidating. Sora was feeling really uncomfortable as she looked around for Sasuke. She walked in the building feeling really self conscious because she could feel the eyes of every guy she passed follow her. A group of male Genins from the village of the Mist whistled as she passed by. She ignored them but she felt more uncomfortable than ever. _Where the heck is Sasuke?_ she thought as she kept walking. _I don't know which way is room 301!_

"Sora!" called a voice.

"Huh?" Sora said and turned to face the voice. It was Naruto and Sasuke was with him. "Naruto? You're here? Early?"

"Hey," Naruto said defensively. "I wouldn't be late for something like this! But yeah, everyone's heading upstairs now so let's go quick before we get caught in the traffic."

Sora nodded. She felt a little better now that her two teammates were with her. Both Sasuke and Naruto noticed the unwanted attention Sora was receiving from the other guys and they both instinctively walked on either side of her protectively.

As they climbed the stairs, they heard a commotion going on in the hall. "Would you please just let us through?" a female voice said.

"You've got to get past us first," a rough male voice said back.

The three turned the corner to see a cluster of Genins from all different tribes surrounding two mean looking guys who were standing in front of the door.

"This is ridiculous!" the female said as she approached them. One of the guys standing in front of the door lashed out and landed a punch on the girl's cheek. The crowd gasped.

"The Chuunin exam isn't for wimps like you guys if you can't even get past us!" said the other guy. "You should all just quit now if you don't want to get killed."

The girl, whose name was Tenten, wiped her mouth and was about to say something when Neji, one of her teammates and the number one rookie from the year before grabbed her arm to restrain her.

"What's going on here?" Sasuke said calmly walking up to them.

"You've got to turn in your applications here don't ya?" said the first guy. "Well, we're not going to let you."

"That's odd," Sasuke said in an uncaring voice.

"How so?"

"This is the second floor so room 301 wouldn't be here, now would it?" he said. The crowd gasped in realization. "You should've all seen the illusion they were putting up here," Sasuke said calmly putting his hands in his pockets.

"You think you're smart don't ya?" one of the guys said. "Well, how's this for smarts?" He threw a punch at Sasuke but Sasuke retaliated in the blink of an eye and was about to block it with a powerful kick but then they both stopped.

A strange looking boy named Rock Lee who was the other teammate of Neji and Tenten had blocked both attacks and was now standing in between the two of them holding Sasuke's foot and the other guy's arm. He had a bobbed haircut and bushy eyebrows adding to his strangeness. "We shouldn't fight in the school now! Save it for the exam," he said releasing both of them.

_What? He's fast,_ Sasuke thought. _He was able to block my attack and the other guy's? _

"Lee," Neji said, "I thought we made an agreement not to do anything out of the ordinary."

"I'm sorry," Lee said looking down. "But…" He looked straight up at Sora with a blush on his face.

Sora looked at him knowing what was about to happen. She sweat-dropped.

Lee walked towards her. "My name is Rock Lee," he said confidently as he picked up her hands in his. "And I swear if you accept me I will protect you with everything I've got! Will you go out with me?"

Sasuke and Naruto dropped. _What?_

"Uh," Sora said not really expecting him to be so straight forward. "Do you even know me?"

"Not yet but I would most definitely like to get to know you!" Lee said with a deeper blush. "You are truly beautiful!" He bowed down to kiss her hands but then both Naruto and Sasuke suddenly appeared in between them making Lee release Sora's hands. They both looked mad.

"Excuse me," Naruto said, "but you're not her type."

Lee stared straight back at him seemingly unfazed. "And you are?" he asked sarcastically.

Naruto was on the verge of knocking his brains out. "She's-"

"Naruto!" Sora said interrupting him not wanting a fight to break out. She covered his mouth and dragged him backwards. "Uh, sorry but I think we need to go and, uh, turn in our applications now." _Hint, hint, Sasuke._

"Mmmf, mmmf, mmmf!" Naruto said still talking to Lee.

Sasuke just gave Lee a look of contempt and turned his back to follow Sora and Naruto. _He's got no chance with her,_ he thought.

"Hey wait a minute," Neji spoke up.

The group stopped and Sasuke turned around.

"What're your names?" he asked Sasuke and Sora. He wasn't very interested in Naruto.

"Usually you introduce yourself before you inquire another's name," Sasuke said coldly knowing perfectly well who Neji was and not wanting him to know who Sora was.

Neji refused to be fazed by Sasuke's attitude. "Hyuuga Neji."

_Hyuuga?_ Sora thought. _He's related to Hinata-chan?_

Sasuke smiled confidently. "Uchiha Sasuke." He turned his back to face Sora and Naruto.

"And you?" Neji directed his question to Sora.

"Uh-" she started.

"That's none of your concern," Sasuke interrupted quickly. "Let's go." He grabbed Sora's arm and pulled her and Naruto away.

Naruto was now fuming at Sasuke. _Why does he always get all the attention?_ he thought angrily.

_Who does he think he is?_ Sora thought angrily. _I can tell whoever I want what my name is!_ But then she felt Naruto tense up and had to concentrate on holding on even tighter to keep him from doing anything unnecessary. "Naruto!" she whispered. "Will you calm down?"

Naruto finally relaxed at Sora's voice and she released him but he still felt angry at Sasuke. _That arrogant jerk…I'll show everyone in the exam who's better!_ The two boys' eyes locked in a vicious stare as they walked down the hall.

_You can't keep her from me forever, Uchiha,_ Neji thought as he watched them go.

The two thugs had hidden in a room and they now were transformed back into their original adult Jounin forms. "I think this year's gonna be interesting, don't you?" said one.

"Yes, very interesting," replied the other.

The crowd that had gathered around the door was now dispersing to look for the real room to turn in their applications. "Come on, Lee," Tenten called to the boy still staring off in the direction Sora went.

"I'll be right with you," he said. "I've got to do something."

"Lee, you-" She was cut off when he was nowhere to be seen. "This could be troublesome," she said to Neji who was also still staring off in direction Sora and the others had gone.

"Hm."

_Not him too,_ Tenten thought putting a hand to her head. _Who is she anyway?_

Sora, Naruto, and Sasuke found out that they needed to walk to the other side of the academy to get to the room to turn in their applications so they decided to cut across the courtyard.

"Uchiha!" Lee's voice called.

The group stopped as they all turned around to see Lee on the balcony above them. Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"I demand a fight with you right now!" he said jumping down from the balcony and landing with ease. He stood straight and tall with one hand behind his back and the other extended in front of him with his palm facing himself.

"Why?" Sasuke said coldly.

"Because," Lee said, "I want to prove to the world that geniuses like you can be beaten by hard work and perseverance. I, unlike you, can't use Genjutsu or Ninjutsu attacks, but my Taijutsu is superior and I'll prove it! And also…" He turned his gaze to Sora. "I need to prove that I'm strong enough for her!"

Sora stepped back in surprise. _That was unexpected,_ she thought as she panicked. _Crap, now Sasuke's going to fight him no matter what._

"Fine," Sasuke said confidently. _I can beat him easily._ He wasn't going to back down from a challenge for Sora.

"NO!" Naruto yelled having enough. "I'll fight you!" He ran at Lee.

"I want to fight the Uchiha, not you," Lee said calmly. As Naruto's fist came at him, he effortlessly used two fingers and pushed his fist to the side. Naruto went spinning into the wall.

_What?_ Sora thought as she watched him. _He's not able to use Genjutsu or Ninjutsu but he is still so good in his Taijutsu ability? If last night wasn't a dream, I'm going to have to be just as good as he is, but I'm not nearly of the same level…_

Lee knew Sora was looking at him and he blushed. "Now, Uchiha," he said gaining confidence. "Fight me!"

"With pleasure," Sasuke said focusing his energy so that his Sharingan appeared.

"Sasuke, don't," Sora pleaded once she saw the Sharingan. "We've got to turn in our forms in a half an hour!"

"Don't worry," Sasuke said. "This will take ten minutes." He smirked at her confidently.

Sora rolled her eyes. _The overconfidence again?_

_Yes, I get to go against the genius' special attack!_ Lee thought as he readied himself. "I feel honored to fight one as strong as you so early on," he said.

Sasuke ignored the comment and rushed at him whipping out a kunai blade. He sliced through the air but Lee had disappeared. "What?"

"Behind you," Lee said.

_What the heck?_ Sasuke thought as he turned and sliced the air behind him. Once again, Lee was gone.

Lee was once again behind him. "Amazed? I've got to tell you that the Sharingan can copy any Nin or Genjutsu attacks but mine are all straight hand-to-hand combat techniques. The Sharingan can see them and copy them but your body cannot keep up with my speed!" He aimed a kick at Sasuke.

Sasuke barely blocked it and skidded back. _This guy…_ He was getting annoyed. _Faster than me?_ He ran at Lee again this time throwing two kunai knives at him but Lee dodged them easily and landed a punch right under Sasuke's chin. Sasuke went flying upwards. _How?_

Lee jumped up in the air. "I'm not finished yet," he said. He aimed a kick at Sasuke's stomach but Sasuke twisted out of the way just in time.

They both landed and immediately rushed at each other. Sasuke blocked another one of Lee's punches, but barely, and then he aimed a kick at Lee's legs but missed.

"Konoha Senpu (Hurricane)!" Lee yelled and kicked Sasuke high in the air stunning him.

_No,_ Sasuke thought as he flew through the air. _I don't believe this._

"Now I will end this battle!" Lee said. He was right underneath him in the air unwrapping the bandages on his arms. "Shadow Dance."

Sasuke turned his head in disbelief to see what Lee meant by Shadow Dance, but then a pinwheel came out of nowhere and pinned Lee's bandage to the wall making Lee land on the ground.

"Sasuke!" Sora gasped as she saw that he wouldn't be able to break his own fall. She ran over and caught his body from crashing into the ground. _He couldn't even react to his attacks!_ she thought as she glanced over at Lee who was looking very scared in front of a giant tortoise. _What the heck?_

"Lee," the tortoise said sternly, "what have you to say for yourself?"

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I know I got carried away, please forgive me!" Lee was on the ground groveling at the tortoise's feet.

"Gai-sensei is coming," the tortoise said. "You'd better get ready to face him."

Naruto woke up at that moment and saw the tortoise. "What's with the turtle?" he asked groggily scratching his head.

"Ahem! Tortoise!" the tortoise said indignantly. Then POOF! A puff of smoke appeared on top of the tortoise and there stood Gai-sensei. His hair was bobbed just like Lee's and he flashed his shiny smile at Sora who was staring at him in disbelief. _She's a cute one,_ he thought as his teeth blinded everyone in the room.

_I didn't know such a person existed,_ Sora thought. She felt Sasuke struggling to sit up. "Are you ok, Sasuke?" she asked trying to help him.

He shook her hands off angrily. "I'm fine," he said roughly.

_He's really shaken up, _Sora thought. She knew that his pride was hurt and that basically meant he was going to be in a bad mood the rest of the day and then some. She stood up and shifted her gaze back to Gai but he wasn't there anymore. He was behind her.

"Well, well, well," Gai said from behind.

Sora gasped and turned around. _I didn't even sense him moving!_ she thought.

"You're Kakashi's aren't you?" he said with a chuckle as he looked her over and liked what he saw even more now that he was up closer. Sasuke tensed as he saw Gai's gaze sweep over Sora.

"A fuzzy eyebrowed guy like you knows Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto yelled out rudely.

"Shut up!" Lee practically screamed at Naruto. "You shouldn't talk to Gai-sensei like that! He-"

"Lee, it's ok," Gai said walking back over to Lee. "Yes, I know your sensei," he said to Naruto. "You could say that we've been arch-rivals ever since the academy days." He put his hand under his chin a state of dramatic remembrance.

Naruto's eye twitched. _This guy's Kakashi-sensei's rival?_

Gai turned to Lee. "You!" he said overdramatically. He pulled back his arm and punched Lee hard in the cheek sending Lee backwards to the ground.

"WAH?" Sora gasped at what happened.

"Lee," Gai said more softly now with tears forming in his eyes. "You broke your promise to me, to your team, and to **yourself**!" he sobbed adding a soapy emphasis on the word "yourself."

Lee kneeled in front of his Sensei in tears as well. "Sensei! I'm so sorry! Please forgive me!" He bowed low to the ground.

Gai knelt down beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Lee! I forgive you with my whole heart!"

Lee looked up at him through his tears. "Sensei!"

"Lee!" The two embraced as tears flowed freely down both of their faces. "It's ok to make mistakes when you're in the springtime of your youth!" Gai said. "It's only natural to the process of growing!"

_I can't believe I lost to a guy like that, _Sasuke thought even angrier now that he saw his histrionic sensei.

"Now your punishment will be given!" Gai said standing up.

"YES SIR!" Lee said with a salute and stood up as well.

"You are to run 200 laps around the village!"

"SIR!"

"Um, Gai," the tortoise said. "Remember the Chuunin exam is coming up very soon-"

"Oh yes!" Gai said flashing a smile at the tortoise. "Lee! Then you will do 500 laps into the sunset, now!"

"YES SIR!" Lee said and immediately began running.

"Ah, yes, the springtime of his youth!" Gai said. "Let's go," he said to the tortoise. The tortoise nodded and the two disappeared in a puff of smoke.

A short silence followed. Then Sora broke the awkwardness. "That was probably the weirdest thing I've ever seen in my life…" she said.

"Yeah," Naruto agreed. "What was a turtle doing here anyway?"

Sasuke kept silent. He was still angry that he lost to an overdramatic, fuzzy eyebrowed guy like Lee.

"We should really go and turn in our applications now," Sora said checking the time. "It's almost the deadline." Naruto nodded and the three walked off towards the real room 301.

After turning in their forms, the group decided to do some self training since Kakashi had told them that that day they weren't going to meet. Naruto and Sasuke went their separate ways and Sora decided that she would go and try to find the lake where the Hokage had preformed the seal on her the night before. She couldn't exactly remember where it was but she leaped off into the forest anyway. _It's got to be around here somewhere,_ she thought as she scanned the area quickly. She knew a faster way to look for the lake would be to use her Chakra to sense for water but she was afraid of the truth if it all wasn't a dream.

_I'm such a stubborn wimp, _she thought bitterly as she stopped to look around. "Fine!" she said out loud to boost her confidence. "I'll do it then!" She put her hands together in a focusing seal and started to feel for her Chakra. She concentrated and focused but nothing happened. _No, I refuse! _she thought as she furrowed her brows. She concentrated even harder but nothing happened. Finally she gave up and breathed a sigh of frustration. "So it wasn't a dream," she said bitterly punching a nearby tree. Some leaves and buds came falling down from the impact.

_Well, I'm not going to get any stronger by sulking,_ she thought. _I'll just train like that Lee guy does!_ She started trying to figure out how Lee would train from what she had seen. _Hm, he probably runs a lot since he was so excited to do those 500 laps around the village. Then he most likely does a ton of push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups as well as punches and leg-kicks._ She sighed at the work load. "I'm not going to back down now!" she yelled to herself. "Ok, 500 laps, no problem," she said sounding a lot like the overconfident Naruto. She took off at her usual grueling pace for running.

After 379 laps, she felt completely exhausted and on the brink of keeling over. "Holy crap," she gasped as she forced herself to keep going. "And he still does punches, leg-kicks, and other stuff after this?" She realized that running and doing all the physical activities were a lot harder now that she didn't have that extra boost of her Chakra to help her.

At 428 laps, she had to slow to a walk. Sweat was pouring down her face making her skin glisten. Her tight workout shirt was soaked making her bindings really visible. _Well, at least I'm alone,_ she thought as she tried to slow her breathing down to normal. "How…the…heck does he do this?" she said out loud. She kept walking for a half a lap and then forced herself to run the rest. Finally she finished all 500 laps and she collapsed on the ground temporarily immobile. "Holy…crap…" she said in frustration between gasps of air. She managed to push herself up so that she was sitting on her knees. She punched the ground making an indention in the hardened dirt path and got up shakily. She swayed a bit but caught herself and wiped her mouth. She smiled. "All right," she said. "Now for those push-ups."

About 2 hours later, she was done with 425 push-ups, 800 sit-ups, 375 pull-ups, and 1400 leg-kicks per leg. She had kicked halfway through a stump about 20 feet in diameter with the force of her kicks. She had bruises and was bleeding but she didn't care. _Punches…_ She did 2000 punches and was able to punch through the rest of the trees stump until it fell over.

She was even more exhausted now but she kept standing. "Heh, this is just warming up," she said bitterly wiping her mouth with her arm. She saw her hands. They were torn up and bleeding profusely. _Come on,_ her rational mind told her. _You're going to bleed to death if you don't wrap those._ "Fine," she said sullenly.

She went home walking very slowly and was thankful that no one saw her because it was pretty late already. The sun had gone down but the moon was bright in the sky. Once at her apartment, she took a quick but very refreshing shower and then got out an aid kit. She put some soothing ointment on her hands and legs and proceeded to wrap them with bandages. She was sore all over her body. _And I'm going to have to do this everyday until the Chuunin exam, _she thought bitterly. She shook her head and refused to be sullen. "I'll just go relax a bit outside before I go to bed."

She opened the door to her apartment to find Kakashi about to knock on her door. She started. "Kakashi? I mean Sensei! What are you doing here?" she said quickly stepping out of her apartment and closing the door.

_She called me Kakashi, eh? _"Oh, sorry for coming so late," Kakashi said glancing at her bandaged arms and legs. "Have you been training today?"

Sora hid her arms behind her back. "Uh, yeah, just a bit," she said smiling nervously.

"I see," he said suddenly grabbing her arm from behind her back. He placed her bandaged hand on top of his and used his other hand to flatten her hand out. Sora winced in pain and embarrassment. "You've been doing Taijutsu training, haven't you?" he asked as he began to unwrap the bandage.

"Uh," she said not knowing what to do. She knew she couldn't take her hand back because Kakashi had a gentle but firm grip on her hand but she didn't want him to see her injuries. "Sensei, really, I'm fine," she said trying to pull back anyway but Kakashi held on.

"Let me see your injuries," he said gently.

Sora could do nothing but concede. She held still for the rest of the time and finally the bandage was off.

Kakashi inspected her hand. _It's much better than I thought,_ making a mental note to himself. Her hand was still cut up and swollen but he had expected it to be much worse. He had spied on her while she trained knowing that she couldn't sense presences as well as she could with her Chakra. _I guess her ability to heal comes from that other power Hokage-sama was talking about._ "Hm," he said thoughtfully.

Sora looked at her hand in embarrassment.

"You never cease to amaze me," Kakashi said reluctantly letting her hand go. "But I actually came here to apologize for yesterday."

"For what?" Sora asked putting her hand down.

"Well, I guess I lied to you about how I didn't know what the Hokage wanted with you and I'm sorry I didn't tell you," he said. "I thought it would be better if he told you himself."

Then something clicked. _Wait, how did I get home after the sealing? I remember hearing his voice somewhere…was it him?_ "It was you then, wasn't it? Who brought me home, I mean," she said.

"Yes," he said looking into her eyes.

"Then, uh, thank you," she said blushing. Not knowing what else to say she looked down and started playing with the bandage wrap that was in her hands.

"Sora, look at me," Kakashi said lifting her chin. "I know you've made your decision to enter the Chuunin exam already and I'm not going to stop you, but let me say this one thing." He put his hand down. "In this exam, many people have died or gotten so seriously injured that they could no longer pursue the life of a ninja. Your loss of Chakra and lack of specific Taijutsu training will put you at a big disadvantage."

"I know," she said quietly.

"Starting tomorrow, I think it's best if I personally train you without Naruto or Sasuke."

"Really?"

"Yes, but you must be able to work up to my standards of training. We're going to have to train much harder than we have been since the exam is only in three days which basically means we only have two days to train," Kakashi said.

"Of course!" Sora said enthusiastically. "I'll do anything!"

_She's so young and eager… _Kakashi thought to himself. _She'll be fine. _He patted her head. "Then I'll see you tomorrow at the bridge at oh let's say 6?"

"Ok! 7 it is!" Sora said eagerly.

"Not funny…"

"Hehe, just wanted to give you time to find your way around the village, Sensei," Sora said brightly putting her hands behind her back.

"I _will_ be there at 6," Kakashi said turning to leave. "You'll see."

Sora just smiled as she watched her sensei walk down the hall. _If he's just there by 6:30 I'll be happy,_ she thought as she went inside.

Sora was up at 5:30 and ready by 5:45. She wanted to be there really early to see if Kakashi would even try to come earlier. She ran down the stairs of her apartment building running into someone. "Oh, excuse me. I'm so sorry!" Sora exclaimed stopping to help the person up. Then she saw it was Kiba.

"Sora?"

"Kiba? Are you ok?" Sora knelt down beside him. He had taken a pretty hard fall since Sora was running so fast. She offered her hand.

"Yeah," Kiba said sheepishly and took her hand. "I'm fine, thanks. What're you doing up so early?" Akamaru, who had been smart enough to jump out of Kiba's coat in time, yipped happily.

"I was just going to train with Kakashi-sensei," Sora said as she pulled him to his feet. "I guess I was in too much of a hurry to get there since he promised to be on time today."

"Huh? You mean he's usually not on time?" Kiba asked.

"Well, he claims he gets lost all the time but I don't think so," Sora said with a laugh.

Kiba melted in her smile. _She's even more beautiful now,_ he thought as he smiled with her. "Hey, it's been a while though," he said. "How've you been?"

"Oh, fine," Sora said automatically knowing that she was lying. "I just turned in my application for the Chuunin exam yesterday."

"Really? Me too! I was kinda surprised that Kurenai-sensei recommended us since we're all just rookies," Kiba said.

"I thought that, too," Sora said her voice faltering slightly. "I don't know…"

Kiba put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, don't worry about it," he said comfortingly. "We're all on the same playing level here. I bet you're gonna do the best out of all of us." Sora felt her heart sink as she thought of her Chakra seal. She tried to hide it but Akamaru sniffed it out and whined. Kiba also noticed. "What's wrong?" he said moving a strand of hair out of her eyes.

Sora immediately changed her expression. "Oh, nothing," she said quickly looking away. She tucked the strand behind her ear.

Kiba knew not to push it but wanted to make her feel better. "Hey," he said gently moving his hand down to grasp hers. "After your training, can I take you to dinner or something?"

Sora's eyes widened and she looked up at Kiba. "Uh, sure," Sora said without thinking.

_Really_? "All right," Kiba said squeezing her hand. "How does 7 sound?"

"Great," Sora replied still unsure of what was happening. "I've got to get going but I'll see you later then."

"Yeah," Kiba said letting her hand go. "See ya." Sora left. _She said yes…_ he thought. _HOLY CRAP SHE SAID YES!_ He picked up Akamaru and did a little victory dance. "Oh yeah!" Akamaru rolled his eyes at his master.

Sora realized that it was 6 on the dot and she wasn't at the bridge yet. "Oh shoot," she said out loud. She ran as fast as she could to the bridge. When she arrived, it was a bit past six but there was no one there, just her, the birds, and the morning mist. She smiled to herself as she caught her breath. _Well, I guess he didn't make it after-_

"Hello, Sora," Kakashi said from behind her.

Sora whirled around in shock. "You…you…" She backed into the rail with her jaw dropped.

Kakashi leaned down so his face was right in front of hers and opened a small pocket watch he was carrying just for the occasion. "Can you tell me what time it is?" he said smiling while bringing the face of the watch closer to her stunned eyes. The seconds ticked by as Sora stared at it blankly. She couldn't answer. "Oh?" Kakashi said lazily standing back up and putting the watch away. "You must be in quite a shock if you can't tell time anymore." He gave her one of his best innocent smiles.

Sora shook her head. "The one day…" she muttered.

"Ironic, huh?" Kakashi said. "By the way, you were one minute and 26 seconds late. There's a punishment for that kind of irresponsibility."

Sora's mouth fell back open. "But…you-"

"Ah, you see, there's the difference between you and me," Kakashi said putting a hand under his chin staring at Sora with false intensity. "I am the Sensei and you are the Student. Now, what shall I make you do? Hm…"

Sora couldn't believe what she was hearing. _Of all the days to be late…grr…well, it's not Kiba's fault. I should've watched where I was going…ARGH I hate this…_

"Well," Kakashi said with a mischievous smile. "I was going to make you do 400 laps but I'll let you do 600 instead and you still have to do your regular push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups but you must finish in time to make me my breakfast." He gave himself a mental pat on the back.

"WHAT? BREAKFAST?" Sora yelled in disbelief. "Do you know what kind of cook I am?"

"Better than me."

"I might kill you…"

"Well, if I were you," Kakashi said yawning, "I would start those laps now before you run out of time."

Sora bit her tongue to keep from lashing out and began running.

Kakashi watched her go. "This will be interesting," he said laughing.

An hour later, Sora amazingly finished her 600 laps and immediately began on her other warm ups. Her sheer determination to wipe her sensei's smile off of his face kept her going even though she felt half dead. Another hour later, her warm ups were done. She stood up ignoring her screaming muscles and walked with a straight back to a partially awake, partially reading Kakashi. "I'm done," she said through gritted teeth. She wouldn't let herself fall to the ground to rest. Not in front of him.

"Oh?" Kakashi said checking his watch. "Good job. Just in time for breakfast."

Sora stubbornly looked away and clenched her fists.

Kakashi laughed and pulled Sora down next to him on the ground. "I'm just kidding," he said with a laugh.

Sora looked at him incredulously. "Why you-" she ran out of breath and collapsed against the tree they were sitting in front of. _WHAT A JERK!_

Kakashi chuckled as he put his book down and looked at her. "I'm not a jerk," he said.

_What? Did he just read my thoughts?_

"No, I'm not reading your thoughts, it's just that your expressions are so easy to read," he said. "I'm actually impressed you finished within 2 hours since yesterday it took you much longer to do your laps and such."

"You," gasp "saw?"

"Well," Kakashi put a hand behind his head and laughed sheepishly. "I was sort of spying on you yesterday."

Sora rolled her eyes unable to speak.

"Very impressive," he said again.

A few minutes later, Sora could do the basic necessities: breathing, talking, and walking, so they began. "We'll start with focusing the physical energy in our bodies instead of the Chakra," Kakashi said putting his hands together in a meditative pose.

Sora followed. She closed her eyes and imagined her physical energy circulating in her body instead of the Chakra she'd always envisioned. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes feeling like she was ready.

Kakashi sighed. _We've got a long way to go,_ he thought as he put his hands on Sora's. "You're not ready yet."

"What?" Sora felt as ready as she could be with just her body energy. "What do you mean?"

Kakashi pressed her hands together with one of his and lightly closed her eyes with his other. Keeping his hand over her eyes, he spoke. "Now, try again."

Sora was confused. "What should I feel?"

"Sh. You'll know when it happens, now just concentrate."

Sora tried to focus but she could feel Kakashi's hands on her skin. She shivered remembering the last time they were this close. _He's just my sensei,_ she thought as she breathed out. Focusing was impossible. _Why is he making me so nervous?_

Kakashi knew what she was thinking. _Am I making her this nervous?_ he thought to himself. He liked the feeling of making Sora feel this way. _Is there more to her feelings than I think I know?_ He felt her breathing get faster. _Hm…_ He moved his hand that was on her hands up her bare arm leaving goose bumps on her skin.

Sora didn't dare speak for fear of breaking her concentration, if there was any to begin with. _What's he doing? Is this some sort of test?_ She tightened her hands together and focused even harder than before.

_She's weakening,_ Kakashi thought as he moved his hand to touch her exposed neck. _Such smooth skin…_

_Don't move, don't speak, don't think,_ Sora told herself. _This is just a test. Just a test… _She began to shake. _Where's my body energy?_

Kakashi snapped out of his daze. _What the hell am I doing?_ he yelled at himself. He quickly took his hands away from her before he got out of control.

Sora felt his hands leave. She gave a small sigh of relief as she regained control of her mind again. Then she felt it.

_Well,_ Kakashi thought as he felt her body energy come alive. _At least it taught her how to concentrate._ "Do you feel it?" he said keeping his voice surprisingly even.

Sora nodded.

"Good," he said acting like his wandering hands were part of his training. "Now use this energy and attack me."

_What?_ Sora hesitated.

Kakashi sighed. _I hate doing this to her._ He got out his kunai and swung at her.

Sora could hear his blade slicing the air and instinctively ducked. _Again?_ She opened her eyes and reached for her own weapons but then it struck her that she didn't bring them. _Dammit…_ She jumped back just in time to avoid a shuriken knife. It struck the ground in front of her. _Hm._ She grabbed it while catching another shuriken knife in her hand. _Now I've got weapons!_ She stood up and readied herself.

"Good. You can hear my attacks," Kakashi said running up to her in the blink of an eye.

"Uh?" Sora barely had time to dodge his foot that came at her head. She swung a shuriken at Kakashi and it met in a clash against his kunai. The star knife cut into her hand from the impact. She clenched her teeth. _Fine!_ She used her other knife to attack but her arm was caught by Kakashi before the blade came in contact with him.

"Your movements are too slow," Kakashi warned as he pushed her back forcefully.

Sora flew backwards in the air but threw both shurikens at Kakashi before she sprung herself up with her hands and landed on her feet. The star knives went flying through the air but struck a tree in the distance hitting no Kakashi. _Damn him…_

"No time to lose concentration." Kakashi came at her from above with no weapons. "Use your body energy in hand to hand combat!"

Sora jumped out of the way as Kakashi's fist struck the ground creating an enormous hole. _He's stronger than before. Has he been training too?_ Sora thought as she shielded her face from the flying rocks and dirt. Then Kakashi's foot came at her and she crossed her arms in front of her to block the attack but got thrown back again from the impact. She skidded on her feet to a halt. I_ should be attacking! Not him!_ She concentrated just like before on her body energy then, "Sensei!" she yelled as she sliced her hand behind her.

Kakashi dodged easily. "Good, now you're finally beginning to use your body energy," he said.

"Yeah, well you just wait," Sora said delivering a spinning kick at Kakashi's face. Kakashi blocked it and grabbed her leg.

"Too weak."

"Hah!" Sora had expected him to do that and she twisted her body in the air and attacked with another kick from her other leg.

_What?_ Kakashi barely blocked the attack with his arm._ That actually hurt…a little. Hehe._

_GRRR!_ Sora screamed inside as she bent her knees and pushed off from Kakashi flipping over and landing a few feet away. She ran at him concentrating her body energy into her fist. "AH!" She punched as hard as she could through the air and felt it contact the palm of Kakashi's hand making him skid back a few feet leaving marks in the ground.

_Much better,_ Kakashi thought as he readied himself for whatever Sora might do next but when he looked up, she was gone. _Huh?_

Sora was feeling a little more confident now as she ran as quickly as lightening behind Kakashi. "Gotcha!" she yelled as she spun and kicked at him from behind. Kakashi went flying through the air. "That's for going soft on me before!" she shouted after him with a smirk.

"Good job, Sora," Kakashi said from behind her.

Sora jumped and turned around slowly. Then she heard a small poof off in the distance and realized that she had kicked a log. _Dammit._

"If I hadn't been able to use my Chakra, you probably would've had me there," Kakashi said smiling at the fuming Sora.

_Cheater… _Sora thought angrily as she clenched her fists.

"I'm not cheating you know because in a real fight, your opponent's going to be able to use his Chakra against you," he said reading her expression and laughing "Always remember that little detail and use your senses to figure out what's an illusion and what's real."

Sora sighed and closed her eyes. "This is going to be so much harder than I thought."

"Don't think like that," Kakashi said tapping her on the head with his fingers. "You've already improved so much in that short fight that I think you'll be ready in two days no problem!"

"Really?" Sora said looking up.

Kakashi nodded. "Again." He disappeared.

_Crap…_

After completely skipping lunch and going until about 5 in the afternoon, Sora finally couldn't move anymore. She was bruised in countless places and had several deep cuts as well as numerous smaller ones all over her arms and legs. Kakashi had indeed worked her hard. She collapsed to her knees gasping for air.

"I think that's enough for today," Kakashi said lazily. He didn't even seem to be breathing hard but in reality, he was hiding the fact that most of his Chakra was spent because he had to repeatedly save himself from her physical attacks. She had gotten almost as fast as she was with her Chakra now.

_Ya think?_ Sora thought bitterly. She tried to stand up but fell forward.

Kakashi gracefully caught her in his arms. "I'll take you home," he said kindly. He transported them both to her apartment and opened her door with her key. "You should relax tonight," he told her as he set her down.

"Yeah," she said but then she remembered about Kiba. _Oh, I almost forgot. _She always felt relaxed around Kiba and Akamaru so she didn't think about canceling. _I need some fun in my life, right?_

"I'll see you at, oh, 6 tomorrow, or would you rather have it at 6:30?" he said smirking.

Sora threw the nearest thing to her, which was a scroll, at him but he ducked behind the door and shut it laughing. _He can be so childish at times,_ she thought.

She went to take a quick shower but ended up taking an hour. She felt so much better after the hot shower that she didn't even notice that her wounds were in much better condition than before. She decided to dress a bit more nicely than usual for her little date with Kiba. She got out a pair of nice pants and a black top to go with it. The shirt had long trailing sleeves and was decently cut but it definitely showed off her figure as fitting black clothes usually do. She put a black choker on and then brushed her hair down. She glanced at the clock. "7 exactly!" Sora said pleased with herself. Then she heard a knock at the door. _Very punctual,_ she thought with a smile as she opened the door.

There was Kiba dressed in nice khaki slacks and a longer but not baggy black collared shirt. He wasn't wearing his jacket that he usually wore and his short brown hair made him look pretty hot. Akamaru had insisted on staying home to leave his master and his crush alone. "Wow," he said at the sight of Sora. "You look sexy."

Sora rolled her eyes and smiled as she stepped out of her apartment and locked the door. "Thanks," she said taking his arm. "It's weird that we both wore black, huh?"

"Uh…" He was shocked that she had grabbed his arm. He stifled a growl that threatened to come out. "Yeah."

"So where're we going?" she asked him as they began to walk down the hall.

"Well, that's a surprise," Kiba said slyly. The two walked through the still busy streets of Konoha not noticing that they were getting quite a few stares and whispers because they were too engrossed in their conversation with each other. Finally Kiba stopped at a small but pretty crowded restaurant. "Here we are," he said opening the door for Sora.

"Thanks, Kiba-kun, you're such a gentleman," Sora joked as she poked his stomach.

Kiba blushed and went in after her. A waitress walked up to them. "How many for tonight, sir?"

"Just two," Kiba said putting an arm around Sora's waist.

"All right, follow me, please," the waitress said. She led them through the maze of tables and placed them near the indoor pond they had running down the middle of the room. "Your server will be here shortly."

"Thanks," Sora said. Kiba pulled out her chair for her to sit in. "Kiba-kun, you're spoiling me," she said with a blush as she sat down.

Kiba took his own seat and gave a sexy smile. "Anything for you."

_Oh god, I hope he's not too serious,_ Sora thought. _I don't want to hurt him._

_Just enjoy yourself tonight,_ her mind told her. _You deserve a break._

_Yeah…_ Sora laughed and opened the menu. "I didn't know this place existed before," she said looking through the many choices of traditional Japanese foods.

"Yeah, it's small but it's sure getting more popular by the week," Kiba said not looking at the menu but at Sora. He already knew what he was getting and couldn't take his eyes off of her. "Do you like sushi?"

"Hm, I don't think I've had that before," Sora said unable to choose from the many delicious looking choices.

"I highly recommend it," Kiba said.

"Ok, then I'll try it," Sora said closing her menu.

Their waiter came and took their orders and soon Sora was eating probably the best food she had ever had. "This is soooo good!" she kept saying over and over again. She realized how hungry she was since she didn't have lunch that day.

Kiba always had a big appetite and ate even more than Sora did but he never took his eyes from the red-haired beauty in front of him. "So you like sushi, huh?"

"Definitely," she said laughing. "If it all tastes like this."

They talked about different things throughout the rest of their dinner and finally left the restaurant an hour and a half later. "Come on, I've got to show you something," Kiba said after he paid the bill. Sora followed him outside. "But I've got to blindfold you first," Kiba added mysteriously.

"Oh, this sounds dangerous," Sora joked.

"It is," Kiba growled playfully. "You've got to trust me now."

Sora smiled and let him put the blindfold on her. "Ok, now what?"

"Just relax," he whispered in her ear.

Sora felt him wrap his arms around her in a close hug. Then a wind picked up. She felt him transporting them to another place. Little did they know that someone was watching them.

Kiba transported them to a side of a secluded cliff overlooking the ocean that was on the other side of the mountains of Konoha. Sora smelled the difference in the air and felt the slight mist of the ocean nearby. "Can I take this off now?" she whispered excitedly wanting to see where she was.

Kiba smiled at the eager girl in his arms and took her off blindfold dramatically.

Sora gasped at the scene. The moon was high in the night sky that night and reflected beautifully off of the ocean water as it was cut through occasionally by a wave or two. A few stray birds flew silently through the darkened sky. "It's…it's beautiful," she whispered completely in awe at the scene in front of her.

Kiba slid his arms around her from behind and leaned the side of his head against hers. "You're beautiful," he said inhaling her scent. He was after all an animal-like person.

Sora couldn't take her concentration off of the ocean. In all her travels, she had never seen the ocean like she was seeing it now. She had always thought of it as a barrier to pass, a dangerous place where the power of nature could take a life in a second. She never thought of it as a source of beauty. She didn't notice that Kiba had begun to nuzzle her neck and had moved an arm up to her shoulder crossing her chest area.

"So beautiful…" he whispered as he began to kiss her smooth skin.

Sora was finally brought back to reality. "Kiba," she breathed as she felt him suckle her neck softly as he held her tighter. His other hand began moving up and down from her leg to her stomach. But then she heard a whizzing sound in the air. "Watch out!" she yelled automatically pulling Kiba forward causing them to fall to the ground with Kiba on top. A shuriken knife struck the ground right where Kiba had been standing.

"What the-?" Kiba said as he quickly got back to his senses. Then he smelled another person. _Dammit, I was too caught up to notice,_ he thought angrily as he got off of Sora and stood in front of her protectively. "Who's there?" He clenched his fists.

"Kiba," Sora said getting to her feet and grabbing his arm.

"Get away from her," a cold voice said coming from a dark figure in the distance.

"Heh, not a chance," Kiba sneered as he readied himself. He already knew who it was by his smell. The figure advanced.

"Who are you?" Sora asked still a little shaken from before.

"I said, get away from her," the voice said to Kiba.

Then Sora recognized the voice and gasped. "Sasuke!"

"Back off, man," Kiba growled putting an arm in front of Sora. "What're you trying to do? Kill me?"

Sasuke had a kunai blade in his hand and he looked almost possessed. "She's mine!" He ran at Kiba, his eyes burning with hate.

Kiba leaped forward to meet him. Sora couldn't react fast enough to stop them. "No!" she yelled but to no avail.

The two boys clashed iron as they met in mid air. Each was thrown back from the impact. They stabilized themselves in the blink of an eye and attacked again and again. Sora was tired but she ignored her soreness and ran towards them ready to fight if necessary.

"You can't have her!" Kiba yelled as they clashed again.

"_You_ don't deserve her!" Sasuke spat back as he brought out his Sharingan. He was out of control.

_Shit, his damn eye,_ Kiba thought as he barely dodged Sasuke's blade. _I can't win like this._ He slid backwards.

Sasuke appeared behind him and kicked him down to the ground. He stood above Kiba who was struggling to get up and grasped his kunai, the sharp end pointing downwards. "Now," he said demonically, "you will die."

"Sasuke!" Sora was finally able to catch up to the two boys. She desperately grabbed Sasuke's arm pulling him back. "NO!"

Sasuke's eyes widened. _What?_

Sora felt tears streaming down her face but she didn't care. _Why? Why is he like this?_ They fell to the ground.

Kiba saw them fall and then lost all consciousness.

"Sasuke…" Sora said shaking. She put her head against Sasuke's arm and let her tears fall onto his sleeve. "Why?"

"Sora?" Sasuke didn't know what to do. He felt as if his mind was taken over by some other force inside him. He looked at the unconscious Kiba and back to Sora. Then he realized what he had done. "Sora, I…I'm so sorry…"

Sora let him go and looked away. "How is this happening?" she asked herself out loud.

_You only hurt those around you. Accept your fate._

_But why is Sasuke…why is he so affected by me?_

_Those who are closer to you will only be caused more pain. _

_No!_ She shook her head.

Sasuke reached out to Sora. "Sora, I'm sorry," he whispered still shocked at what he had done. "Sora-"

"No!" she said through tears backing away. "I can't…please..." She wanted to be left alone but she didn't know how she was going to get back or get Kiba back to the village since she didn't know where they were and she didn't have her Chakra. She clenched her fists and wiped her tears away. "Sasuke, we need to get Kiba to the hospital, now," she said surprising both Sasuke and herself with her change of tone.

Sasuke was too shocked to answer but just nodded with uncertainty. He automatically went over to Kiba and picked him up.

Sora walked over to them with an unreadable expression on her face. "Can you…" she trailed off as she touched his arm lightly.

Sasuke understood and nodded. He transported them to the hospital. The doctors took him immediately to a private room. After about a half an hour of waiting, the doctor came out.

"Will he be ok?" Sora asked.

"Yes, he'll be awake by tomorrow morning," he said. "May I ask what happened to him?"

Sasuke tensed. _What's wrong with me?_

"Training, it was training," Sora said quickly.

Sasuke couldn't believe his ears. She was lying to protect him? He started to speak. "I-"

"Can we see him?" Sora said before Sasuke could get anymore out.

"Sure," the doctor said and left them.

Sora went in but Sasuke was too stunned to follow and stood in the hallway. She walked over to Kiba who was fast asleep on the hospital bed. He had a few cuts on his arms and face that had been treated and were wrapped but he didn't look too bad. Sora sat on the bed and put a hand on his face. "Kiba-kun, I'm so sorry," she said feeling tears well up again but she refused to let them fall. She leaned over and gently kissed his cheek. "I'll be here in the morning to see you wake up," she whispered as she got up. She left the room closing the door softly behind her. Once in the hall again, she saw Sasuke and looked away.

"Sora, I…I don't know what was wrong with me, I just…I lost it and-"

"Sasuke," Sora cut him off. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, but please, I'm only going to hurt you if you have feelings for me."

"What? Sora-"

"No, listen," she said shaking her head. "I'm not worth your pain; I'm not worth Kiba's pain. Don't waste yourself on me." Sora started to leave but Sasuke grabbed her arm.

"Sora," he said sternly not letting go. "It's too late. I can't…I don't know what happened with me back there but I do know that...that when I see you with another guy, it drives me insane! Sora, you don't know what-"

"_You_ don't know what you're doing to yourself," Sora interrupted trying to break free.

"Maybe, but I know if I lost you I would die!" he pushed her against the wall and put his hand beside her head on the wall. "I can't live without you!" he breathed looking into her eyes.

_He's serious,_ Sora thought fearfully. She could see it in his eyes.

_You're only going to hurt him…_

"We should go home now," Sora said quietly. "Just forget about me." She pushed his arm away and walked out of the hospital.

Sasuke couldn't move; he couldn't think. He was breathing like he'd just run a million miles. Then he fell to his knees. "Sora," he choked out. _I can't forget…_

Sora got home at midnight and couldn't fall asleep. She paced her room, mindlessly lost in her thoughts. _It's true,_ she thought bitterly. _Everyone who gets close to me gets hurt. I was placed here with this fate…this curse._ She slammed her hand on her desk. _The closer they get the more pain I cause them. Father, it's my fault you were killed! It's my fault our village was destroyed. Everything I've ever known has been destroyed and the things I don't know yet, I…I don't want to know what they are!_ "I'm not making any sense!" she said out loud in frustration. "Why am I still alive? What's my purpose?" She curled her fingers on the desk against her palm making a fist. She sunk to the floor. "I don't deserve to live…" She stayed on the ground for a few hours calming herself with reason and false hope.

The village clock struck 5. She got up and washed her face with cold water and brushed her teeth. She changed her clothes that she had been wearing all night and went out of her apartment. It was raining. She walked quickly over to the hospital which was pretty far and got there in 20 minutes. She went up the receptionist soaking wet. "Can I see Inuzuka Kiba, please?"

"Oh? Hm, Inuzuka…" the receptionist said to herself as she flipped through her files. "Ah, yes. You were here with him last night, correct?"

"Yes."

"He's in the same room, 132," she said handing Sora a pen to write her name on the list of visitors. Drops of water began dampening the page. "Uh, would you like a towel or something?"

"Oh, uh, yes, thank you." Sora signed her name while the receptionist brought a towel. She wiped herself dry and walked down the hall to Kiba's room. She took a deep breath and then opened the door to find Kiba still asleep. She sighed and closed the door softly behind her then walked over to his bed and sat down putting her hand on his arm.

He stirred at her touch and his eyes flickered open. "Sor…Sora?"

She nodded and stroked his hand. "Hey, how're you feeling?"

He tried to sit up but felt his head spin and slumped back down. "Pretty good considering," he said with a small smile. "You?"

"Me? I'm fine. You shouldn't try to move too much today," she said.

Kiba found her hand and covered it with his. "That bastard didn't do anything to you, did he?"

Sora shook her head. "I have to apologize for what happened last night," she said. "I couldn't help you sooner…"

"Hey, don't worry about it," Kiba said pulling her hand up to his mouth kissing it. "You had a hard day of training yesterday." There was a knock at the door. "Yeah?" Kiba called.

The door swung open revealing a nurse. "Oh, I'm sorry. Am I interrupting something?"

"Oh, no," Sora said taking her hand away and standing up. "Go right ahead." Kiba almost whined in protest.

The nurse bowed slightly as she went over to Kiba and started doing the regular check ups on him. "All right," she said a few minutes later. "I think you can go home at the end of the day, Mr. Inuzuka. Your wounds are healing nicely and you should be as good as new by tomorrow, but don't do any training today, ok?"

"Yeah," Kiba said not really listening.

The nurse bowed and left the room.

"You really shouldn't train today," Sora said after the nurse left.

"But the Chuunin exam is-"

"If you don't wait until you're better then you'll be in even worse shape for the Chuunin exam than if you waited. Please?"

"Oh fine." Kiba sighed as he relaxed back in his pillow again.

"Where's your sensei? I'm going to tell her that you're here, ok?" Sora turned to leave.

"Hey! Don't tell her it was because I was fighting Sasuke!" Kiba pleaded.

Sora sighed. "Ok, I won't," she said. "Just tell me where I can find her."

"She's usually near the base of the cliff waiting for us," Kiba said.

Sora nodded her head. "I'll be back after training today to take you home, and promise me you won't try and get up."

"Fine, fine," Kiba said with a sigh. "Just come back, ok?"

Sora gave a weak smile and left the room. As she left the hospital, she heard the bell strike 5:45. She sighed knowing she was going to be late again today but she still ran to the base of the cliff. Sure enough, Kurenai was there meditating under a tree. Sora walked up to her softly. "Excuse me, Kurenai-sensei?"

She opened her eyes. "Yes?"

"Uh, I just came to tell you that Kiba's not going to be able to training today," Sora said carefully.

"Really? How come?"

"Uh, well, he was just doing some extra training with me yesterday and got hurt pretty badly so he's resting in the hospital right now and should be better by the end of the day. I'm going to take him home later."

"Training?" Kurenai looked at Sora inquisitively.

"Yeah."

"Hm. Well, thank you, Sora," she said returning to her meditation.

Sora gave a sigh of relief since Kurenai didn't ask too many questions. She took off as she heard the bell strike 6.

The rain started falling harder as she ran through the nearly empty streets of the village. She reached the bridge and found that no one was there. She tuned in to her senses and tried to listen or smell if anyone was there but the rain diminished her acuteness.

"Sora?" Kakashi's voice came from behind her.

She turned slowly expecting a scolding.

"Are you ok?" he asked seriously. He could sense that something was eating at her. He put a hand on her shoulder.

Sora couldn't hold it in any longer. She let the tears fall silently thanking God that it was raining so it wasn't so apparent but the ever perceptive Kakashi saw through her expression.

"Sora…" She moved forward suddenly and threw her arms around Kakashi's neck and buried her face in his chest crying. Just crying. Kakashi was stunned but automatically wrapped his arms around her. He had never seen Sora in such a broken state before. Yes, he had seen tears before, but not like these. _What happened?_ he wondered as he stroked her back.

Sora didn't care anymore about holding in her tears. She sobbed out loud with no restraint for once in her life. They stood in the rain letting the dismal drops fall from the grey sky.

Finally Sora got a hold of herself and pulled back. "S-sorry," she said shakily looking down in embarrassment.

Kakashi put a hand to her cheek. "No, it's ok to cry sometimes," he said wiping her tears away with his thumb. "If you want someone to talk to, I will listen."

Sora looked at him through glassy eyes. "It…it's nothing, Sensei," she said sniffing. "I'm sorry I'm late."

Kakashi raised his eyebrows at the sudden change in the topic.

"I think I'm ready to train," she said after seeing that he was shocked.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." Pause. "It helps me get my mind off of things. Don't go easy on me though."

Kakashi looked at her. "All right then," Kakashi said hesitantly. He directed Sora to do the same amount of laps as the day before in the same time or less as well as the other warm ups.

Sora nodded and started off. An hour and 53 minutes later, Sora was done with her warm ups and was feeling more determined than ever to beat Kakashi in training today.

Kakashi was still unsure whether Sora was stable when she came back but when she almost caught him off guard during their practice battle, he knew she meant business.

The rain never stopped but it never got any worse either. By the time 5 rolled around, both student and teacher were dripping wet and exhausted. Sora had really concentrated and had almost hit Kakashi several times during their practice battles keeping Kakashi always on his toes.

"Ok, that's enough for today," Kakashi said as Sora threw three kunai knives at three targets on a tree and hit each square in the middle. "You've made some big improvements today. I think tomorrow, since it's the day of the exam, the team should meet together before you guys enter. But even though they'll be with you, don't forget your level of concentration."

Sora nodded. She almost collapsed down to her knees like the day before but she refused and kept standing. "Yeah. Thank you, sensei," she said and bowed.

Kakashi was still worried about her morning behavior but didn't want to bring it up now that Sora seemed to be more emotionally stable. He watched her as she went towards her apartment. _It's amazing how much better she is today despite the fact that the rain dampens some of her senses. Hm, I wonder if this has to do with Sasuke or Naruto…_ But he decided that if Sora wanted to tell him, she would do so herself so he began his walk to his apartment by a different route.

Sora made it to her apartment in one piece and unlocked the door. She felt a lot better after her grueling training session with Kakashi but she didn't forget about Kiba. She took a quick shower and then went to the hospital taking an umbrella with her. She signed in at the desk and went directly to Kiba's room. She knocked.

"Yeah."

She opened the door and saw Kiba sitting on his bed looking out the window watching the rain. "Kiba-kun," she said quietly.

Kiba turned around quickly at her voice. "Sora-chan!" he said and got up. "Finally." He caught her in an embrace.

Sora let his arms surround her. "How're you feeling?"

"I'm fine," he said moving a wet strand of her hair out of her eyes. "You?"

"Tired, but I feel much better," Sora said truthfully and smiled. "Let's get you home." They walked to the front desk and Kiba checked out. Sora opened her umbrella as they stepped outside. They walked in a comfortable silence to Kiba's apartment building which was not that far away.

"Thanks, Sora," Kiba said kissing her cheek lightly.

Sora was taken aback by the sudden action but let it pass. "No problem," she said and turned to leave.

"See ya around?"

Sora turned her head and smiled. "Yeah." They waved goodbye and Sora walked into the falling rain. But instead of walking home, Sora walked to the public garden. The fountain was nearly overflowing. She stood in front of it watching the water slip over the side and flow to the ground. Then she heard someone else in the garden and turned around. It was Sasuke.

"Sora," he said panting like he had just run.

Sora didn't answer. She just stared at him not wanting to show any feeling.

Sasuke started breathing harder as he looked into her eyes. _She doesn't feel anything? _He fell to his knees on the soggy ground and looked down to keep himself from crying. _Why? Why doesn't she love me? Can't she see how impossible it is to forget her? I…I can't…I just-_ He suddenly felt the rain stop falling on him. He opened his eyes and looked up.

Sora stood above Sasuke covering them both with her umbrella. She offered him her hand. "Here," she said quietly. Sasuke hesitated but took it and she pulled him up. "Now's not the time to let these emotions take over us. We can't let them get in the way of the Chuunin exam. We should forget any of this ever happened until the exam is past."

"How? How can you just forget?" Sasuke asked.

Sora smiled and shook her head. "Have you forgotten the rule of the shinobi?" She looked at the fountain. "A ninja must not allow emotion to interfere." She looked back at Sasuke. "I haven't forgotten, Sasuke, I just know that there will be a time for emotion to be shown and a time for it to be concealed."

_She hasn't forgotten? Does that mean...?_

"We all have reasons in becoming ninjas," Sora continued. "Mine is that I made a promise to someone important to me. You must have a reason, right?"

_Itachi…_ He nodded as the rain fell harder and the wind picked up.

Sora smiled. "We've got to remember our original goals now and put this aside." She grabbed his hand and pulled him along as she walked. "Now let's get home before we both get sick, ok?"

_That's a sudden change,_ Sasuke thought as he let her lead him out of the garden. _She's acting like nothing happened._

Sora suddenly stopped. "Hm," she said thinking out loud. "I just realized I don't exactly know where you live." She turned around with a smile on her face.

Sasuke blinked. "Uh…"

"Don't tell me you've forgotten now," Sora joked.

Sasuke shook his head. _She's right,_ he thought. _I've got to become strong enough to kill _him_. Only then will I be worthy of her love._ "No."

Sora smiled at his change back to his curt, almost annoyed responses. _At least he's getting back to normal._ "Ok then, I'll walk you home, and promise me to get some sleep. Tomorrow's the day of the exam and I think Kakashi-sensei wants all of us to meet him before we go in, ok?"

"Hm."

"Hello?" Sora let go of his hand to wave it in front of his face. "Sleep _after_ you get home."

Sasuke grunted and grabbed the umbrella out of her hand and grasped her hand in his other as he pulled her along towards his house.

Sora smiled to herself as she let him drag her through the rain. Thunder rolled across the sky as a flash of lightening cracked in the distance. The storm was getting worse.

His house was enormous but it wasn't only one house, it was an entire estate. Sora looked in awe at the majestic, traditional architecture. _He lives here?__By himself?_

Sasuke unlocked the gate and went in the court yard. "It's going to start hailing soon," he mumbled as he unlocked the door to the main house.

"How do you kn-"

Without even asking he pulled her inside and closed the door. He shook out the umbrella in the hall and set it down. Sure enough, ice pellets could be heard hitting the roof. Another flash of lightening filled the sky. "I can't let you go outside in this weather," Sasuke said flatly.

Sora looked at him with a raised eyebrow. _Of all the days to hail,_ she thought.

"Stay the night," he said in a more of a commanding tone than an accommodating one.

"What?" she asked skeptically not sure whether her little lecture in the garden did anything to him.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and led her into the main hall. "I'll get you some dry clothes." He left.

Sora looked around her. The room had an unused air to it and the thin layer of dust over everything told her that he either didn't clean much or didn't use this house much. There were glass cases set up around the room with ancient looking weapons and artifacts in them. Magnificent paintings were hung all over the walls. Sora took a step closer to one of the cases to look at the scroll inside. It had the family lineage written on it.

"These should fit," Sasuke said coming back in.

Sora turned around and saw that Sasuke was holding a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt. "Thanks," she said taking them from him.

"You can change in here," Sasuke said walking over to another room across the hall. "I guess this'll be your room for tonight."

Sora nodded and stepped in and slid the door shut. It was a very traditional room with a mattress rolled out on the side, but it was beautifully decorated with bonsai trees growing on the window sill and a small indoor pond in the corner. The desk had a porcelain basin on it with a towel hanging out of it. She changed quickly after admiring the decorum and then left her room to find Sasuke. "Sasuke?" she called as she slid the door shut behind her. There was no reply. "Sasuke?" She began to walk down the hall.

She turned the corner and- "Whoa," she gasped in surprise almost running into Sasuke. "Sorry," she mumbled looking down in embarrassment.

Sasuke had changed into some dry clothes as well. "It's fine," he said curtly. "I was just going to get you to for dinner."

"Oh." Sora had forgotten up until now that she hadn't eaten anything that day. "Sure." She followed him into the kitchen area. Everything looked unused. "So, do you just live here by yourself?" she asked as Sasuke got some food out.

He nodded. "I usually don't eat here though," he said trying to start the stove.

"What're you gonna make?"

"I don't really know," he said still trying to start the stove and failing. "Anything you don't eat?"

Sora shook her head. "I'm so hungry I think I can eat anything," she said smiling as she watched him struggle with the stove. "You obviously don't cook much, do you?" She moved his hand aside and started the stove with ease. "Allow me."

Sasuke felt completely embarrassed on the inside but didn't show it on the outside. Soon, some simple stir fry was ready to be eaten on the table. They sat down to eat. "This is good," Sasuke said as he finished his first bowl.

Sora laughed. "Don't eat too fast," she warned as he started filling another. "You might get sick and then I'd have to take care of you."

"I wouldn't mind that," he said slyly.

"Uh-huh," Sora said taking a sip of her tea. She set her cup down and sighed. "This place is amazing."

Sasuke looked up. "Oh, thanks."

"I didn't know you had such a big estate," she said.

"Yeah…"

"But it doesn't look like you use it that much."

"I'm not usually home so there's no need," he replied sticking more food in his mouth.

"You're lucky," Sora said sighing.

Sasuke stopped eating and looked at her. "If this is luck then I'd rather not have it," he said seriously.

Sora looked at him shocked. "Why?"

Sasuke put his chopsticks down. "This estate has been passed down in my family for hundreds of years. The Uchiha family is one of the families that started the hidden village of Konoha so I guess we're considered nobility. The Sharingan is our special Blood Line Limit ability but being in this family also has a curse."

"What curse?"

"Some old family story," Sasuke said drinking some of his tea. "Supposedly, an angel of some sort fell from heaven placing a curse on this family for some reason."

"Is it true?"

"My parents told me it wasn't, but now I believe it."

"Really…why?"

Sasuke tensed up.

Sora sensed his discomfort. "Never mind," she said quickly.

"No, you should know," he said quietly.

"Sasuke, you don't have to if-"

Sasuke put a hand up. "The curse is the reason I'm alone, the last of my family bloodline." He got up and began to collect the dishes. "My brother was born with the strongest Chakra and potential in the entire history of my family. He mastered his Sharingan at the age of 5 and became a Jounin at the age of 13. At 16, he was already an ANBU squad leader. But then something went wrong." He walked over to place the dishes in the sink. "It was raining that day, too," he said looking out the window.

Sora kept quiet somehow knowing that this was the first time he had had the courage to tell this to anyone.

"I came home after shuriken practice one day and…and found all of my relatives dead." He clenched his fists. "I ran to my father's house and it was empty. I remember being scared, so scared." He began to shake at the painful memory. "I heard a noise in the armory room and I opened the door to find my parents and my brother in the room. My father was shielding my mother from him…he was pleading with him to stop but, he didn't listen. He killed them! Right in front of me! That bastard killed them!" He slammed his fist on the counter. "He was their first born, their favorite, and he killed them!"

_I've never seen him like this before,_ Sora thought as she got up. She walked over to him and put an arm on his back. "Sasuke," she said softly.

"He told me," he choked out, "he told me that he killed all the others as well. He said it was because he wanted to test his powers. He was powerful enough to kill the entire clan…and…I was weak and helpless. I couldn't stop him."

"Don't blame yourself," Sora said as gently as she could.

"But it's my fault," he said turning to face her. "I wasn't strong enough then but I must become strong now. I must have my revenge on him. He left me alone in this world to suffer…to kill him and I will." Sora saw the powerful hunger light his eyes. "You talked about a reason to become a shinobi before," he continued. "That is my reason."

Sora didn't know what to say. _Was that man in the garden his brother?_ she asked herself. _He must've been. They look so similar._

Sasuke searched her eyes for her reaction. _She's the first person I've ever told this to…when I'm around her I…I don't feel alone anymore._ "I'm sorry," he said and looked down in shame. "I didn't mean to go on like that." He turned to walk past her.

"Sasuke-" He felt Sora's hand on his wrist. "No, I'm glad you told me," she said softly. "I just never knew…" She let his wrist drop. "But there is more to life…your life than revenge. You have so much to live for, and you're not alone. I'm here. Kakashi-sensei and although you might not like him, Naruto, they're here. We all want to help you." They stood in silence as the hail pelted the outside world.

Then Sasuke suddenly turned around and grabbed Sora's shoulders pushing her against the counter. His eyes were red with the Sharingan. "No. Kakashi, Naruto, I don't need them…they care nothing for me. I only want you, Sora. Please accept me! I'll do anything!" He swiftly moved his hands behind her head and pulled her into a fierce kiss.

Sora gasped as their lips met but she didn't pull away. _I don't know what to do…_ she thought as he broke the kiss but continued down to her neck, his hands wandering down her back. She could feel his heart pounding through his chest as he pushed her harder against the counter. His lips found hers again. Sora could feel, she could taste his desperate need…for her. She knew that he would truly kill himself if she rejected him. _He has a future. Who am I to stand in his way? I have no purpose like he does. I've just been selfish in thinking that I do. Sasuke…_ She willingly opened her mouth to let his tongue enter.

_She's…_ He broke the kiss. Both of them were breathing hard as they looked at each other. "Sora," he started.

She put a finger to his lips. "It…It's ok," she said as she put a shaky hand on his cheek._I don't know what I'm doing,_ Sora thought. She brought her hands down and took Sasuke's arms from behind her back to her sides. "We should get some rest," she said.

"Yeah," he said still in a daze but then he snapped out of it. "Yeah." _I'm not going to be parted from you. Not now, not ever. _He grabbed her wrist and led her to his room.

"Sasuke, what are-"

He covered her mouth with his hand. "I need you." He gently pushed her down on the bed and moved himself so that he was on top of her. He kissed her gently as his hands found their way underneath the shirt she was wearing. Sora opened her mouth to let out a gasp as his fingers ran across her ribcage. Sasuke took the opportunity to slide his tongue into her mouth. _More…_ he thought, fire burning in his eyes. He sat up and tore off his shirt revealing his perfectly built upper body.

_Oh god,_ Sora thought as she couldn't help but stare. _This is bad._ But she couldn't move.

Sasuke tore the shirt Sora was wearing down the front and tossed it to the side. _Dammit, she has bindings on._ He slid his hands under her back and turned both of them over so that Sora was now on top. He found the knot that held her bindings on and began to untie it.

Sora knew she should stop him but something kept her. _Am I going insane?_ she thought as she let the cloth slip down her torso. She felt his eyes on her chest area. She quickly pulled up the blanket they were lying on and covered herself turning red with embarrassment. "Pervert!" she accidentally said out loud while blushing madly.

Sasuke smiled as he pulled at the blanket wanting to feel her breasts against his hard chest. "No, you're just irresistible," he said pulling Sora and the sheets down over them. Sora had to let go of the blanket to catch herself from smashing into Sasuke allowing full body contact. Sasuke slid his arms around her keeping her on top of him. "You're beautiful," he whispered as he licked her ear.

Sora didn't move to get up not wanting to expose herself again. Then she felt his hands sliding down her sides. They reached the top of the pants she was wearing and he started pushing them down taking her underwear with it. Sora shot her hands down to stop his. "Sasuke!" she whispered frantically. "We can't!"

"Why not?" Sasuke said moving his hands to pull off his own pants.

Sora felt his movement and grabbed his wrists. "Are you crazy? The Chuunin exam's tomorrow! We can't…" She trailed off blushing again.

Sasuke smiled mischievously as he slowly pulled her underpants back up letting himself feel her smooth skin. "Ok, but the pants go."

"What?" In the blink of an eye, both of their pants were on the floor next to the bed. Sora only had her underpants on and Sasuke his boxers. "This is so wrong," Sora said more to herself than to Sasuke.

"They were my clothes anyway," he said as if they were in a normal situation.

"You…" Sora muttered making sure the blankets were covering both of them so that neither of them would stare. She shot a glare at him.

Sasuke smirked and suddenly flipped them back over so that he was once again on top. His lips came crashing into hers as he ran his fingers through her hair. He nipped her lip making her mouth open. His tongue slid back into her mouth intertwining with hers. Sora accidentally let a moan escape from her throat as she tried to fight back with her own tongue.

The sound almost drove Sasuke over the edge right then. "Oh god, Sora," he gasped as he released her mouth. He moved down to the crook of her neck and began to suckle the smooth skin gently so as not to leave marks behind. He could feel her soft breasts pushing up against his chest making it his turn to moan. He moved his hand down and grabbed the side of Sora's underwear twisting it around his fingers.

"Sasuke!" Sora gasped in protest.

"Don't worry," he said kissing her lips lightly. "I won't do anything, I promise."

_You're already doing something,_ Sora thought as she continued to let him caress her skin. She couldn't help but feel excited and aroused along with fear and nervousness. "Sasuke," she breathed as his hand ran up her side. "We need to sleep."

Sasuke let her push him away slightly but as she rolled to her side to get out, he brought her back up against his chest. "Stay with me," he whispered in her ear. His arms were locked around her waist.

"Not even a choice?" she asked half serious half sarcastic.

Sasuke brought her back closer to his chest as he laid his head on the pillow. "Please."

Sora sighed and relaxed a bit leaning her head back against his shoulder. She was determined to sleep that night so that she would be refreshed for the exam the next day. "Don't you dare try anything when I'm asleep," she threatened hugging the sheets closer to her.

Sasuke moved his arm so that it was on top of the blanket and he draped it across Sora's chest area. "I won't," he said. _This is going to be pure torture, _he thought miserably.

Although Sora didn't want to, she somewhat trusted Sasuke and soon fell asleep. Sasuke stayed up a little longer letting the scent of her hair take over. _I can't believe you're here, beside me,_ he thought taking another intoxicating breath. _I swear with every breath in my body to become strong enough to protect you from anything. You're mine. _


	4. Part IV: The Chuunin Exam Test 1

Part IV: The Chuunin Exam Section 1

Sora woke automatically at sunrise. It was about 4:45 in the morning. She tried to get up but felt a pair of muscular arms surrounding her. "What the-o my god!" She jerked herself free from Sasuke's grasp. She tumbled off the bed and managed to pull the sheets over her just as Sasuke woke up.

"Wha? Sora?"

"SASUKE!" Sora gasped not exactly remembering what happened the night before. "We didn't just…o my god…"

"Sora," Sasuke said fully awake now. He sat up not caring he was only in boxers. "I didn't! I swear!" He got off the bed and put his hands on Sora's shoulders to keep her from shaking. "Sora."

She shook her head to clear up her mind and slowly the memories of the previous night came flooding back. Her cheeks flared up again but she stood up keeping the blanket around herself. "I need to shower," she said trying to keep her voice down.

"Uh," Sasuke said a little shocked at the sudden change. "Ok." He pointed to the bathroom connected to his room.

Sora walked in and shut the door forgetting that her clothes were in the guest room she was supposed to sleep in last night. She turned on the water and jumped in while it was still cold. The freezing water immediately cleared her mind. She quickly washed her hair and body and jumped out wiping herself down with a clean towel. Then she realized her lack of clothing to change into. _Oh shoot,_ she thought as she looked to the door. She sighed and wrapped herself in her towel then she opened the door and poked her head out cautiously. "Uh, Sasuke?" she said quietly looking around the room.

She saw the room was empty but her clothes were lying on the bed. She opened the door wider and stepped in the room slowly ready for anything. Nothing happened. She breathed a sigh of relief and changed quickly. _So he can be reasonable,_ she thought as she combed her hair. Then she left the room to look for Sasuke. He was right outside in the hall completely dressed and washed. "Sasuke!" Sora said in surprise.

"Listen, Sora," Sasuke started. "About last night, I-"

"It's fine," Sora interrupted. "Just…let's not mention it to anyone, ok?" she said turning red again.

"Uh, yeah," he said a little crushed thinking that she just wanted to forget that anything happened.

Sora saw his expression and cautiously put a hand on his arm. "I mean, we can't let anyone know so just…we've got to act normally around each other," she said getting even redder.

Sasuke grabbed her hand and pulled her into an embrace. "Just don't forget, ok?" he whispered in her ear. He let her go and walked to the kitchen. "Breakfast's ready," he said completely changing his tone back to normal.

Sora looked at his retreating figure down the hall and shook her head. "This is going to be a bizarre day," she said to herself.

The card that each of them received upon turning in their applications said that they needed to be at the academy at 6 in the morning but they arrived at 5:30. There were already some Jounins waiting around for their teams and some teams waiting around for their senseis. Sasuke and Sora joined them in waiting for Naruto and Kakashi. Two older Genins walked by them growling and winking at Sora. Sasuke snapped and was about to pummel their faces when Sora stepped in front of him and slapped each of their faces.

"Hey, babe," one said smiling as he rubbed his cheek. "That kinda hurt, ya know?"

"Yeah," the other said. "But I like a girl who can kick my ass."

"Shut up," Sora said curtly sounding a lot like Sasuke, "and keep your comments to yourself."

"Oo, tough talk," the first said. "I'll be looking for you in the exam."

"See ya around, babe," the second said. The two walked away snickering to themselves.

"Is every guy here a pervert?" Sora said exasperated.

Sasuke was still in a sort of shock that Sora had lashed out against those guys since she was usually very polite and kind to strangers. "Uh-"

"Don't answer that." Sora sighed as she leaned against the wall. "You're not one to talk."

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Sasuke asked turning to face her.

Sora laughed. "Nothing," she said and looked away stifling a giggle.

Sasuke was about to say something else when- "HEY! SORA-CHAN! SASUKE!" It was Naruto.

Sora turned around. "Hey Naruto-kun!" she said as she waved.

Naruto jogged up to them putting a hand behind his head. "Heh, sorry I'm late again," he said.

"You always are," Sasuke muttered.

"What was that?" Naruto asked.

"Nothing, baka."

"WHAT'D YOU JUST CALL ME?"

"Baka."

"OH YOU'RE GONNA GET IT NOW!"

"Good morning students!"

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sora said relieved that he was finally here.

"My, you all seem cheerful today!" Kakashi said placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"I'M GONNA KILL HIM!" Naruto said fuming.

"Who?" Kakashi said lazily.

"THAT IDIOT, SASUKE!" Naruto said making a rush at him.

Kakashi tightened his grip on Naruto's shoulder hold him in place. _I hope their teamwork isn't as bad in the exam as it is now… _Kakashi thought as he sweat-dropped. "Well," he said as Naruto calmed down. "I'm glad that you all chose to take the exam because if one of you didn't, that would've meant that the whole team could not enter."

"What?" Sora exclaimed in shock.

Kakashi nodded.

"But, you made it seem like we could actually choose!"

"Well, you could," Kakashi said smiling. "I wanted to make sure that it was each of your own individual choices that decided whether or not to take the exam. If I had told you guys that you had to be entered in as a team, then you would've felt compelled to enter even if you didn't want to."

"Oh." Sora looked down slightly embarrassed.

"What?" Naruto said confused. "I don't get it. Of course we'd all take it!"

"Not necessarily," Kakashi said knowing not to mention anything about Sora's condition. "But anyway, you're all here and now you need to be getting in." Most of the other groups that had been waiting around in the lobby were gone now. "I'll walk you to the door." The group headed up the stairs to the main testing room. When they arrived, they stopped briefly.

The Genins stood in a line, Naruto, Sora, then Sasuke, facing their sensei. Kakashi looked at them. "Remember, you are a team. Work together and win or fall apart and lose. It's your choice." He disappeared.

The three looked at each other. "All right," Naruto said confidently. "Let's do this." He went forward and pushed open the doors. The three entered.

As the doors swung shut, the trio stopped in their tracks. The room was filled with tough, mean-looking Genins who were all staring at them, or more like glaring at them. Naruto and Sora gulped slightly and looked at each other. Sasuke kept perfectly calm and put his hands in his pockets. But-

"SASUKE-KUN!" shrieked a voice.

_WHY?_ Sasuke thought in despair but did no more than twitch his eyebrow on the outside.

Ino came running up to him and threw her arms around him like she did before. "Sasuke-kun, I knew you'd come!" she said nuzzling his shoulder with her cheek. She glared at Naruto and Sora. "What're you guys doing here?"

Naruto snorted. "Well if you haven't noticed, I'm the better ninja of our group anyway, and we're a team so obviously we're here!" Naruto scowled.

"Don't kid yourself, Naruto-kun," another girl's voice came with a giggle. It was Hinata.

"Hinata-chan!" Sora said excitedly and the two embraced. "It's been so long!"

"I know!" Hinata said happy to see Sora again. "This'll be so exciting to see how much we've grown!"

Sora nodded in agreement. Then she saw Kiba and Shino. Sora went over to give a quick hug to Kiba. "Hey Kiba-kun," she said in a friendly tone.

Sasuke shook slightly but kept still. He knew Sora could sense his misery.

"Sora-chan," Kiba said keeping an arm across her shoulders. Akamaru barked happily at their feet.

Hinata smiled and jokingly raised an eyebrow at Sora. Sora shot her a playful glare and the two laughed.

"Hey guys," Shikamaru called as he and Chouji walked up to the rest of the rookie Genins. The others exchanged their greetings but then the room fell quiet as the rookies all felt the eyes of the other Genins on them.

"The atmosphere is so intense here," Hinata whispered nervously. "They all look so strong and mean."

Sora nodded her head not wanting to speak.

"That's what a couple of wimps like you would think," Ino said smugly but quietly as well. She was also nervous.

"Eh, this is just troublesome," Shikamaru said shrugging his shoulders. "They're all acting tough just to intimidate everyone else."

Chouji nodded in agreement as he continued to stuff potato chips in to his mouth.

Naruto had kept silent for a while but not anymore. "HEY YOU!" he shouted at the entire room. "MY NAME'S UZUMAKI NARUTO AND I'M GOING TO BEAT ALL OF YOU!" He crossed his arms as a triumphant smile crossed his face.

Sora immediately ran behind him covered his mouth. "Can't you be a little more tactful?" she hissed into his ear. "You just made everyone in this room your enemy!" She lightened up a bit.

"Oh, uh," Naruto said sheepishly. He laughed a little and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry about that."

Sora rolled her eyes.

"Well, he hasn't changed, has he?" Hinata whispered in Sora's ear.

Sora shook her head and smiled.

"Hey there," an older Genin said walking up to the group. "You must be the rookie Genins from this year, huh?"

"Yeah," Kiba said with a confident smile.

"Well, my name's Yakushi Kabuto," he said with a warm smile. "You guys just look like you need some insider's help on things."

"And how can you help us?" Shikamaru asked skeptically.

"Well," Kabuto said taking out a pack of cards. "There're these things."

"What are they?" Sora asked.

Kabuto smiled when he saw Sora. "Oh, they're just special cards that give information only when exposed to my Chakra." He picked a card out. It looked blank. "Is there anyone at all in this exam you want to know more about?" he asked looking around.

Sasuke stepped up. "Yes, there are two," he said.

"Who?" Kabuto said as he put the card on the ground.

"Rock Lee and Gaara of the Sand," Sasuke said.

Kabuto smiled and rotated the card with his finger, pouring Chakra into it. Then writing appeared. "Here we are," Kabuto said. "It seems as though this Rock Lee you speak of can't use Gen or Ninjutsu but his Taijutsu is excellent. His leader is Gai-sensei and he's a teammate of Tenten and Neji who was the top rookie from last year."

Sasuke nodded signaling Kabuto to go on.

"Ok," he said as he put the card back in the pile. Then he swiped at the deck and drew another blank card out. He put it on the ground and did the same as he did to the previous one. A picture and status of Gaara appeared. "Hm, I guess there's not much known about this guy," Kabuto said putting a hand behind his head chuckling. "He's a teammate of Temari and Kankuro and he's from the Hidden Village of the Sand. Their leader is Yura-sensei. The only other thing here is that he's gone on a B-ranked mission and returned absolutely unharmed."

The group gasped. "That's impossible!" Kiba said. "If he can do that then why isn't he already a Chuunin or Jounin?"

Kabuto shrugged. "I don't know. This is the first year he's participated in the Chuunin exam so I don't know how he fights or anything."

"Then how many years have you been taking the exam?" Ino asked.

"Well," Kabuto turned slightly red. "Four."

"Really?" Ino said in surprise.

"Then you failed four times?" Shikamaru asked. "It's that hard?"

"I failed seven," Kabuto said. The group gasped again. "The exam is held twice a year so this would be my eighth time taking it. Throughout the other times, I've been collecting information on all the other competitors though so I know a lot of secrets."

"But you still didn't pass," Naruto said bluntly.

Kabuto laughed nervously and put a hand behind his head. "Well, uh, yeah."

Sora shot a glare at Naruto for his rudeness. "Uh, Kabuto-san, what else do you have in those cards?"

"Oh, well," Kabuto said glad to change the subject. He got out another card and poured his Chakra into it and a map appeared. "This is a map of the Central World, where our country is as well as the other seven main countries. Each country has its own Hidden Village where they train their ninjas. There's the Leaf which is us, Rain, Mist, Sand, Cloud, Grass, Rock and a new smaller village, Sound." The group crowed closer all wanting to see the card. "Each Hidden Village is its country's military power. If you ask me, the Chuunin exam is held in the same place for all the countries to not only pass their Genins but to see what the other countries are up to in their training. It's a balance of power."

"I see," Shikamaru said. "They're just using this to match up their powers with each other to keep war from breaking out like it did before."

_Hm,_ Sora thought as she looked over the map again. _The Hidden Village of the Sound, huh. I've never heard of it before._

From across the room, the only team from the Sound village was eavesdropping on the rookies' and Kabuto's conversation. "Did you hear that?" Dosu Kinuta asked, his face all wrapped up in cloth. "They said our village was small and weak."

"Yeah," said Abumi Zaku, another member of the team. "We should go over there and teach them a lesson." The third member, Tsuchi Kin nodded her head in agreement. Then three Sound Genins ran like shadows past all the other people in the room straight for Kabuto.

Sora was the first to notice their approach. "What the-"

Kabuto looked to where Sora was glancing and turned his attention to the three approaching shadows.

"You think we're weak, huh?" said Dosu. He ran right up to Kabuto and swung his metal arm at him.

Kabuto dodged but barely. The crowd of rookie Genins gasped. Kabuto smiled in triumph but then his glasses shattered and he fell to the ground clutching his stomach. "Kabuto-san!" Sora gasped as she ran towards him. Kabuto keeled forward and threw up.

"What? He dodged the attack!" Naruto said in complete shock. "How did it-"

"Those guys must have some kind of trick or something," Kiba said with Akamaru whimpering in his coat.

_Yet he clearly dodged it,_ Sasuke contemplated. _Their attacks must have something to do with sound waves then. Even their movements are like sound waves. I didn't sense them coming._

Sora kneeled down next to Kabuto and rubbed his back trying to get him to breathe normally. She shot a glare at the three Sound Genins. "What was that for?" she said angrily. "The exam hasn't started you know."

"He insulted our village," Dosu said laughing cruelly at Kabuto's state. "You'll soon find out what we're capable of and fear our abilities." The other two snickered at Kabuto as well then the three walked away.

"What assholes," Sora muttered as she helped Kabuto sit against the wall. "Are you ok?"

Kabuto wiped his mouth with the back of his gloved fist. "Yeah," he said weakly. "Thanks."

Sora smiled. Naruto and Hinata came over to join them. "You definitely dodged their attack," Naruto said to Kabuto still amazed that the attack hit Kabuto. "How could it still hit you?"

"Naruto you should have paid more attention in class," Hinata said blushing as she talked. "That kind of attack was some sort of wave that travels through the air and hits the target even though the attack does not physically touch the target."

"Really? We learned that?" Naruto said with a blank expression.

Hinata smiled and decided to leave him to his naivety.

"Students!" a loud masculine voice said over the crowd. A man with scars across his face came in. He was dressed in a black overcoat and looked like he could break them all in two if he wanted. "Silence!" The room immediately became silent. A number of Jounins filed in the room each with clipboards and pencils in their hands. "My name is Morino Ibiki-sensei, member of the ANBU. Now each of the examiners will give you a sheet of paper with a number on it. Sit in the corresponding chair." There was a wave of whispers that went around the room. "Silence!" Ikibi barked. The students shut up again and the examiners passed out the sheets of paper. Each Genin sat in his chair quietly while the examiners took their seats against the wall facing towards the rows of Genins. "Now," Ibiki said after seeing that everyone was seated. "Here are the rules for the written exam."

_WRITTEN EXAM?_ Naruto screamed in his head. _I didn't know there was gonna be a written part! I'm so screwed… _He looked around for comfort from anyone he knew. _What? No one I know is near me! _He glanced over his shoulder. Sora was two rows behind him. _Sora-chan!_

Sora saw Naruto's expression of horror at the mention of the written exam. She gave Naruto a hopeful thumbs-up sign and smiled.

Naruto gave her a look of fear and desperation. He mouthed, "I'm going to fail for sure!"

"All right, now I'm only going to say this once so listen up and no questions," Ibiki barked as he began writing on the board. "The exam will have 10 questions with an hour to do all of them. Your paper has 9 of the 10 questions on it and the last will be given with 15 minutes left of the exam. Each question is worth one point. Try to answer all the questions to get as many points as possible. Any wrong answers or blanks will count for nothing. At the end of the exam, we will count up your team's points and that will be your score. Cheating is punished by taking away two points every time you're caught. If you are caught three times, you fail as does the rest of your team."

_Oh, good,_ Naruto thought. _That means I can get a bad score but if Sora-chan and Sasuke do well it'll mean our team's ok._

"If any one person on a team gets a zero, the team fails."

_WHAT THE HELL? _Naruto thought. _They're going to kill me._ He nervously glanced back at Sora who looked like she was in shock as well. _She's going to hate me…_

Sora began to get a little nervous. _I don't know how well those two have done academically, _she fretted. She saw Naruto looking back at her with horror in his eyes. _This is bad._

Sasuke, who was sitting on the other side of the room, looked over at Naruto. _Shit, he's going to fail all of us!_

Naruto raised his hand. He hadn't heard that Ikibi had said no questions. "Hey, hey. I have a question."

"I SAID NO QUESTIONS!" Ibiki exploded.

Naruto brought his hand down quickly. _Geez._

"All right then, begin!" Ibiki said. The sound of papers turning filled the room. All the Genins began nervously looking at all the questions.

Naruto clutched his pencil. _Ok, ok,_ he thought breathing out. _Calm, just take it one question at a time. _He looked at the first one. _What is the equation of the parabolic path of a shuriken knife thrown at the speed of 15 meters per second from a tree with a height of 10 meters at a target that is 9 meters from the base of the tree? WHAT THE CRAP? I don't even know what half of those words mean! _He shook his head. _Ok, it's ok,_ he thought again. _Just look at the next question._ He read it over and began to sweat. Ok, next question. He read through all of them. _I DON'T KNOW HOW TO ANSWER A SINGLE QUESTION! I knew I should've paid more attention to Iruka-sensei… _He plunked his head on the desk and wrapped his arms around his head. _I'm so screwed…_

Sora answered the questions one by one and she was soon done. _Whew, that wasn't so bad,_ she thought as she turned her paper over. _But these questions would only be easy to the academics. Something's up. _She glanced at the clock. _20 minutes till the last question. Ok._ She looked at Naruto's back. He was shaking. _Oh, no._

Sasuke read through all the questions as well. _These questions are nearly impossible._ He looked around the room and back at the board. The rules of the exam were still up. Then it hit him. _The cheating penalty is so lenient. This isn't an exam to test us academically, it's to test us in our information gathering skills. They WANT us to cheat. _He quietly brought up his Sharingan. He saw the guy in front of him beginning to write. _All right, I'll copy his every movement._ He tilted his head down and pretended to concentrate at his own paper but instead he was looking up at the guy writing. He copied his movements and began to write. _Come on, Naruto,_ he thought as his hand automatically moved without him concentrating on it. _Notice this rule! You can't be that stupid._

Sora had nothing to do but look around the room so she glanced at the cheating rule again on the board and then it struck her. _Wait a minute. They want us to cheat!_ She looked around at the examiners who were all busily writing things down on their clipboards. _They've all caught someone cheating then._ She tried to think of a way to get her answers to Naruto without being caught. _How?_

Then a kunai knife came flying through the air going right over Naruto's hunched over figure landing on the paper of the guy behind him. "WHAT THE CRAP?" the guy exclaimed.

"You were caught three times cheating. You fail!" Ibiki said.

An examiner got up and grabbed his arm pulling him out of his chair. "What? No! How can you just do that? You can't prove it!" He took a swing at the examiner.

"Shut up," the examiner said as he easily dodged the attack and slammed him against the wall. "My strength is proof enough." The Genin could do nothing but be dragged away.

"Numbers 34 and 152 fail," another examiner read out loud. The guy's teammates stood up and left the room.

Kakashi had gone to the main tower to wait for the results of his students. There he met Kurenai and Asuma who were sitting at a table drinking coffee. "Hey, Kakashi," Asuma called to him. Kakashi walked over to the two. "Have a seat."

"Thanks," Kakashi said and sat down.

"So how do you think yours are doing?" Asuma said puffing his cigarette.

Kakashi shrugged. "Fine, I guess."

"I was just telling Kurenai that the examiner this time is Ibiki."

Kakashi's visible eye shot open. "What?"

"Yeah," Asuma said. "That's what I said when I found out."

"I still don't get why Ibiki is such a big deal," Kurenai said.

"Heh, well you're new so I guess it's ok," Asuma said. He leaned forward. "Morino Ibiki is probably the most feared interrogator Konoha has ever known. He's gotten a huge reputation in the other countries for being able to crack open even their highest level ninjas for information."

"Really?" Kurenai said getting worried.

_Of all the years, it had to be Ibiki,_ Kakashi thought.

As the minutes ticked by, more and more people were caught cheating three times. When it was time for the last question to be given, less than half of the original number of people were left. "All right," Ibiki said as a Genin was dragged out kicking and screaming followed by his teammates. "It seems as if we've gotten rid of all the fools who were stupid enough to get caught three times."

A murmur went through the crowd. "But that means-" "Yeah, then we were suppose to cheat!" "Duh, it's information gathering skills they're testing, not smarts."

_WHAT? _Naruto thought. _I could've cheated? That means…_ He felt like the dumbest person in the world. _I can't let the others know about this!_

"Yes, you were supposed to gather correct information without being detected by my men. There were two Chuunins placed in the room to be your targets." Two guys raised their hands to signify that they were the Chuunins.

"Aw man…" "What the crap?" "Hey, that means I got them all right!" "Shut up."

"With all that said and done, it's time for the last question," Ibiki said.

_Finally, _Sora thought picking up her pencil. She didn't dare try to give her answers to Naruto since she noticed that some of the examiners were taking a special interest in her. _Naruto, I hope you can get this one. _

"But before I give it to you, there is a catch," Ibiki said. Another murmur ran through the crowd. "Silence! I must ask you whether you want this question or not," Ibiki continued as the Genins quieted down. "If you don't want this question, you will automatically fail this exam and be sent home to try again next time."

"What? Then of course we want the question," Kiba said. Other students agreed.

"This is where the catch comes in," Ibiki said slyly. "If you choose to take the question and you are unable to answer it or if you answer it wrong, then you will never be allowed to take this exam again."

The crowd gasped. "What?" "Then we'll be Genins forever?" "That's bullshit!" "Yeah. You can't do that!"

"SHUT UP!" Ibiki roared. The room was silenced. "Now, if you choose not to take it then raise your hand." He looked around the room making sure he made full eye contact with each Genin.

The room was filled with an uneasy silence. Then one slowly raised his hand. "I…I can't take it anymore!" he yelled out in desperation. "I'm sorry!" He got up and ran/walked shakily out of the room.

"Numbers 88 and 173 fail," an examiner droned. The two Genins who's numbers were called got up and left as well. Then other hands began shooting up. "I can't." "Dammit!" "I'M SORRY!" "Next time…" A crowd of people exited the room.

Naruto looked at everyone leaving. _Dammit, _he thought. _If I don't get this question right then I'm dead…and Sora-chan and Sasuke are failed too. Dammit! But if I raise my hand now…NO, I can't. _Sweat poured down his face. _Dammit, dammit, dammit!_ He finally raised his hand in the air.

Sora looked at him shocked. _No, Naruto! Believe in yourself! You can get this right!_

Sasuke also saw Naruto's hand go up. _Damn him. He probably didn't get any questions at all!_

Then Naruto's hand came crashing down on the desk. "HAH!" he yelled.

"Hm?" Ibiki said as he looked at Naruto.

Naruto stood up with his hand still on the desk. "You think you can scare me?" he yelled. "No way am I backing down from this! I'm going to become the Hokage someday so what would it look like if I backed down from something as dumb as this?" The other students looked at Naruto with a mixture of awe, agreement, and annoyance.

_All right, Naruto!_ Sora thought.

Naruto sat back down and crossed his arms in triumph.

_Interesting kid,_ thought Ibiki. _He made all the other Genins' doubts go away._ He sighed. _Well, it looks like I'm not going to get any of these other guys to go now._ "All right then, if this is your final decision, then I'll give you the last question."

The tension in the room shot up. _Here it comes,_ Naruto thought.

"You will all pass." All the students stared at Ibiki in disbelief. He rolled his eyes. "You all pass now snap out of it!" He whacked the board with a ruler. The sound brought everyone back to their senses.

"What?" "ALL RIGHT!" "I can't believe it." "Man, I thought I'd die if we'd had to wait any longer."

Naruto laughed in disbelief. _I can't believe what just happened! I passed without even answering a single question! HAH! _He got up and threw a fist in the air. "HAH!" he said out loud.

Sora got up and walked over to Naruto giving him a huge hug. "I knew we could get through this!" she said.

Naruto turned a bright red. "Hehe," he said hugging Sora back. "I wasn't worried at all!"

Sora rolled her eyes and smacked him lightly on the arm. "Yeah right," she said.

Sasuke walked over to the two envious that Sora wasn't paying attention to him. "You're pathetic, you know that?" he said to Naruto.

Naruto puffed out. "What?"

"I could feel your nervousness from where I was sitting," Sasuke said putting his hands in his pockets.

"Why you-"

"Naruto," Sora said holding him back. "Stop it! We made it through as a team, remember?" She frowned at Sasuke making sure he knew to quit irking Naruto.

Then suddenly there was a crash as a huge pole came through the wall of the room sticking into the opposite wall. A curtain fell from the pole as a purple-haired woman appeared. "All right you losers! Time for the second part of the exam!" She stepped forward and looked at all the stunned students. "Huh?" She turned her head slightly to whisper to Ibiki behind her. "Hey, there's 78 left? That's too many! What happened? Did you go soft on them?"

Ibiki sighed at the outpour of questions. "No, no. There're just many good Genins this year, Anko." He shrugged.

"What?" she whined as she turned back to face the Genins. "Fine then!" She regained her former energy and loudness. "This second part will make more than half of you fail!" she yelled out a little too excited.

"More than half?" a Genin repeated.

"Yup!" Anko said nodding her head. "You are to meet at the edge of the Forest of Death at 3 o'clock sharp later today. GOT IT?" she yelled out the last part. The students nodded their heads vigorously. "Good." She touched the pole and shrunk it down to the size of a pencil and she put it in her pocket. "You went too soft on them," she said to Ibiki.

Ibiki just shook his head slowly and smiled. "Whatever you say," he said. The room emptied and he began to collect the papers. When he came to Naruto's he looked over the completely blank test. _What a kid,_ he thought laughing to himself. _This year's exam is going to be very interesting indeed._

Team 7 rushed out of the room to find Kakashi. "This is awesome!" Naruto said as he ran past and into some people in the hall. "We're all gonna be Chuunins for sure!"

"Wha? Wait up, Naruto!" Sora said trying to weave her way in and out of the people without knocking into them. "Naruto!" Sasuke followed Sora closely behind not saying anything.

Once outside, Naruto stopped and looked around to see if Kakashi was there. "Hm, hm," he said as he shielded his eyes from the sun. "Where is he?"

Sora and Sasuke caught up. "Naruto! You knocked like 20 people down in there!" Sora said.

"Huh? Oh, sorry," Naruto said obviously not paying attention.

Sora sighed in annoyance. Then she rubbed her temples. "Well, that was intense," she said.

"No kidding," Naruto said turning to face her. "But I knew that we could do it all along!"

Sasuke grunted.

"What?" Naruto said.

"Nothing."

"Hm. Well, we ought to tell Kakashi-sensei, right? I mean, we just passed Part one, right?" He was getting himself overexcited.

"Uh, right," Sora said.

"Then let's split up and see who can find him first!" Naruto said wanting to somehow beat Sasuke that day at something. He took off.

Sasuke couldn't resist the competition. He glanced at Sora and then took off as well.

Sora sighed. "They're impossible."

"That's given," a voice said from behind her.

She turned around. It was Neji. "Oh, uh, hi," she said recognizing him as the one who had asked her name before but Sasuke interrupted.

"I saw that you were able to answer all the questions correctly in there," Neji said walking up to her.

_Huh? How does he-_

"Know?" he finished her thoughts.

Sora's eyes shot open. _He read my thoughts!_

"I was sitting right behind you and I read your paper," he said calmly.

"Wha…" Sora said. _How the heck? If he was using some sort of technique, I should've been able to feel it-wait, oh yeah, stupid seal…oh crap, he can read minds._

_Seal?_ Neji thought. _Then she's like me._ He liked her even more. "I never caught your name," he said.

"Oh right. Sorry about Sasuke, he can be a jerk sometimes," Sora said smiling. "My name's Sora." She bowed slightly. "And you're Hyuuga Neji. Right?"

"Yes," he said as he felt a chill run down his spine. _She remembered?_

Sora smiled. "Then are you related to Hinata by any chance?" she asked. _Maybe I can figure out-wait, mind reader…grr._

_She's strong, yes,_ Neji thought. _Intelligent and absolutely gorgeous..._ "Yes, we both come from the Hyuuga clan. Our family was the main family that started Konoha's hidden village. I guess you could say that our bloodline is similar to the Uchiha bloodline in that we both have Blood Line Limit abilities that have to do with our eyes."

"Really?" she said. _So he just decided to tell me instead of letting me figure it out, huh?_ "Then I can't wait to see your technique! Maybe I'll be your opponent in battle."

"Maybe," he said smiling back. _God, I hope not,_ he thought as he melted. _I don't know if I'd be able to fight you. _"I sense that you're very strong. It would be an interesting battle."

"Excuse me." Sasuke suddenly appeared and grabbed Sora's arm pulling her behind him.

"Sasuke?" Sora asked in surprise.

"Back off," Sasuke snarled.

Neji narrowed his eyes at Sasuke. "Who says you can tell me what to do?" he calmly asked.

Sasuke reached down for his knife.

Sora grabbed his arm. "Sasuke!"

"So eager to fight, hm?" Neji turned to leave. "Well then I hope I get to be your opponent, then." _For her._

_Huh? I can hear him?_ Sasuke thought.

_You can hear me if I let you,_ Neji let Sasuke hear. _You can't keep her from me anymore._

_Save it you bastard!_

_If we fight, it will be for her._

_Agreed._

"See you later, Sora," Neji said.

"Uh, yeah," Sora said as Neji disappeared. "Sasuke!" She shook his hand off of her arm. "You have to stop doing that! We were just talking!"

"He was hitting on you! Can't you see?" Sasuke said exasperated.

"He was not! Now just-ok, calm," she said rubbing her eyes. _Just wait until after the exam…GEEZ! He's so arrogant and overprotective! _She breathed out.

"Ok, fine, I'm sorry," Sasuke said quietly but sincerely.

_Sasuke's apologizing?_ Sora thought. "It-it's ok," she said. "Let's just get through this exam."

Sasuke nodded. "I think Naruto's lost," he said changing the subject. He grabbed Sora's hand and leaped away taking Sora with him.

They found Naruto in the Ramen stand snarfing down bowl after bowl of ramen. "Naruto!" Sora said whacking him lightly on the head. "You said to look for Sensei!"

"Ow, geez!" Naruto whined rubbing his head. "I couldn't help it! Thinking makes me hungry and I was just going by and-and then I said I'd just take a sniff but then…it's like so addicting you know? I couldn't help it!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and leaned against the post.

"It's true!" Naruto insisted. "It like takes a hold of my mind and I can't control myself!"

Sasuke flinched slightly. _Heh, similar to how I feel about her,_ he thought glancing at Sora who was sighing in exasperation.

"We only have until 3 o'clock to find Sensei and then get to the forest and it's 2:45!" she said glancing at the clock on the wall. "Maybe we should just go to the forest, since, well, I mean he probably already knows and-"

"Well, hello there students, fancy seeing you three here," Kakashi said as he casually walked up to the Ramen stand and sat next to Naruto who had returned to finishing his 6th bowl.

Sora's eyes went round. "Sensei!"

"Mmmf, we were just about to find you! How ironic is that?" Naruto said swallowing.

"Uh-huh," Kakashi said looking at Naruto with a little bit of disgust. "Well, good job in finding me."

"Sensei!" Sora said snapping out of her daze. "We all passed the first part of the exam in case you haven't heard but now we've got to get going or we'll be late!" She started to walk out.

"Hold on," Kakashi said lazily. "How was it? Was it difficult? How many of the others passed? Did Ibiki go hard on you guys?" He smiled innocently as Sora's eye twitched. "Just kidding. Good job," he said sweetly patting Sora's head.

She stalked away from the stand with Sasuke following. Naruto was drinking the soup in a hurry and spilled some on his shirt. "Aw, man," he said trying to wipe it off.

"I think you should be going, Naruto," Kakashi said laughing.

"But my shirt!"

"Oh, come on."

"Hey! It's special!"

"Just go."

"Ok." Naruto ran out and caught up with his team.

Kakashi watched them run down the street towards the forest and sighed. _Sasuke, Naruto, I'm trusting you to protect her,_ he thought. _I know by now at least Sasuke should have sensed that her Chakra is sealed._ He felt a pang of guilt. _I know, I know. She can do this. Right. I just need to relax and…Dammit, if anything happens to her-_ He clenched his fist.

"Uh, will you be ordering anything, Sensei?" the Ramen stand owner said from behind the counter.

Kakashi looked at him in a weird sort of way. "What?"

"Do you want anything today?"

"Uh, no thanks," Kakashi said as he got up. He adjusted his forehead protector out of nervous habit and walked out onto the street.

"Weird guy, huh?" the owner asked his daughter who helped him run the stand.

"Don't say that about people, papa. It's rude," she returned.

"Right, right," he said and went back to his other customers.


	5. Part V: The Chuunin Exam Test 2

Part V: The Chuunin Exam Section 2

Team 7 was the last to arrive at the forest with a minute to spare. The other teams were looking nervously around at the fenced off area filled with overgrown trees labeled "The Forest of Death." Anko was standing in front of a small pavilion with two examiners sitting behind her. "Ok, everyone, listen up! I'm only going to say this once and no questions!" she shouted at the crowd.

"She's like that other guy," Naruto whispered to Sora. She smiled nervously in response.

The crowd fell silent. "Each team will enter at a different location around the perimeter. Each will receive a scroll. Half of you will get the Earth scroll and the other half, the Heaven scroll. The object of this part of the exam is to make it to the center of the forest where you will see a large building with at least one of each of the scrolls." A murmur spread through the crowd but one sharp look from Anko quieted them down. "Do not open the scrolls until you reach the central building. You've got a total of 5 days to get there. Got it?" The students nodded their heads. "Ok, then each of you will have to sign a form saying that we're not responsible for any injuries or possible deaths that might occur during this time."

"What?" Naruto blurted out. "Deaths?"

Anko turned to look at him sharply and threw a dagger straight at Naruto. The blade barely cut him across the cheek and landed a few feet behind him. Naruto fell back shaking. _What?_ _She attacked me? She's crazy!_ he thought.

"I said no questions," she said menacingly as she approached Naruto. She stood towering above him as the students waited to see what would happen next.

Then one of the Genins came right up behind Anko with the dagger in his tongue. "Here you go," he hissed.

"Ah, thank you," Anko said without a flinch. "But if you don't want any trouble, I suggest you don't sneak up behind me like that again."

"Oh, I'm sorry," the Genin said. "I just get excited when I smell blood." He flicked his tongue in the air like a snake.

Anko took the dagger from the Genin and went back up to the pavilion. "If a member of the team is unrecoverable or dies then the team is disqualified. Now, every team will stand in line for their scroll and paper. If you don't sign, you will be disqualified from the exam." The group slowly got themselves into some sort of line, and each team was slowly taken into the pavilion behind a curtain and given their scroll while they signed their papers.

"Darn, now no one can tell who has the scroll," Naruto said stating the obvious.

"Well, that's the point," Sora said. "You wouldn't want anyone seeing which one of us had our scroll right?"

"Well, yeah," Naruto said laughing nervously. "But then we also don't know which teams have the scroll we want."

"True," Sora said nodding her head.

It was finally their turn to get a scroll. They stepped behind the curtain and the examiners gave them each a paper. Sora scanned the paper seeing "dismembered, mutilated, eaten, burned, and killed" somewhere within the mess of words. She took a deep breath and signed the paper quickly handing it back to the examiner.

"Ok, now which one of you is going to take the scroll?" the man asked revealing an Earth scroll.

"I will!" Naruto and Sasuke said at the same time. They glared at each other. "What? You? NO WAY!" they said still in unison.

"Uh, guys?" Sora said. "We can't take all day."

"I won't lose it! I promise!" Naruto said turning to Sora.

"Yeah right," Sasuke muttered.

"Fine, I'm just going to take it, ok?" Sora said eye twitching.

"But-" Sora shot a glare at both of them. "Ok."

The examiner handed Sora the scroll. She put it in the inside pocket of her fighting dress where she knew it wouldn't fall out or be found easily. "Let's go," she said smiling slightly. The two boys nodded and followed her out of the pavilion.

Another examiner led them to their entrance which was marked as gate number 7. "Wow! This must be our lucky day then!" Naruto said.

"What?" Sora said.

"This is gate 7. We're team 7! How cool it that?" he said grinning.

Sora giggled while Sasuke glared. _And I'm going into that hell hole with him for 5 days?_

"When it's 4 o'clock, the exam will start," the examiner said glancing at his watch. "Which is in about a minute."

Sora held her breath. _This is it,_ she thought as the seconds ticked by. Then DING.

"Good luck," the examiner said as he opened the gate.

The three stepped in and heard the gate snap shut behind them. "All right!" Naruto said excitedly. "Let's do this!" The group walked into the darkness of the forest.

They walked in complete silence for a while afraid that the other teams might be close by. Once they found a clearing, Sasuke stopped suddenly.

"Huh? Eh, Sasuke," Naruto said in surprise. "What's-" A huge gust of wind came at the three. "AHHH!" Naruto yelled as he lost his balance and fell into the bushes. He lost sight of the others as he was thrown back further.

Sasuke had been anticipating the attack and had grabbed onto Sora before it came. They went crashing through the bushes in the opposite direction of Naruto until Sasuke twisted himself so that he was behind Sora with his feet on the ground. They skidded to a halt.

"What was that?" Sora said gasping for air since the gust knocked the wind out of her lungs. _Why didn't I sense that? _she thought angrily. _Even without my Chakra, I trained for this dammit!_

Sasuke kept one arm around Sora's waist as he pulled out his kunai with his other. "Sh, he's coming," he whispered in her ear as he held her tighter.

Sora's hand went to her kunai pouch ready for anything then someone stumbled out of the bushes. It was Naruto.

"Hey, hey, you guys!" Naruto said jogging up to them. "I thought I'd lost you!"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and held up his dagger dangerously. "Stay back," he said turning so that they were facing sideways towards Naruto.

"What? Sasuke," Sora started. "He's-"

"Not Naruto," Sasuke finished.

"What?" Naruto said in surprise. "Of course I'm Naruto!"

"You're even worse at transforming than the real one is," Sasuke snarled.

"Huh?"

"Naruto puts his kunai pouch on his right leg and yours is on the left plus the scratch from earlier isn't on your cheek," Sasuke said getting ready to attack.

The Naruto poser smiled and transformed back. "Well then," he said as he revealed his true form, a Mist Genin. He rushed at the two.

Sasuke felt Sora's hand on his arm and they pushed off from each other going in opposite directions. Sasuke's one dagger turned into three daggers as he threw it straight at the target.

"What?" the Mist Genin said as he was only able to block one. The other two cut him right through an arm and leg. He cringed in pain but was not done with yet. He let out a gas from the mask that he was wearing.

_Poison?_ Sasuke thought as he jumped up on a branch. The gas was a bit heavier than the air so it stayed beneath him. _Sora! Where is she?_

Sora had jumped back behind the attacker as he fought with Sasuke. _No problem,_ she thought as the target disappeared into the gas. She knew that he was only concentrating on Sasuke and didn't know where she was. She closed her eyes and focused her sense. She finally heard a small stepping noise. _There! _She opened her eyes and threw a single kunai blade into the cloud of smoke.

"AHHH!" a voice cried from within the smoke. Sora knew she had hit her target exactly where she wanted to.

_Stupid, I shouldn't have come here by myself,_ the Mist Genin thought. He jumped out of the cloud with Sora's kunai in his other arm making him unable to make seals or use his arms. He quickly disappeared into the bushes racing back to find his teammates.

_That's strange,_ Sasuke thought. _Usually during a fight, I can feel everyone's Chakra but Sora…hm…it's missing. Yeah, come to think of it, her presence has felt different lately._ He jumped down to where Sora was now standing. "Why didn't you just kill him?" he asked.

"I didn't see the need," Sora answered moving some hair from her eyes. "If it can be helped, I'd rather not end the life of one so young like us." Then a sound was heard from the bushes. The two immediately got out their weapons but then,

"Hey, hey!" It was Naruto. "You guys! I thought I'd lost you!" He jogged up to them panting. "What happened?"

Sasuke pointed his kunai knife at Naruto's throat.

"Wha! Sasuke!" Naruto yelled out in shock and tensed up.

"Ok, you're the real Naruto," Sasuke said lowering his blade.

"What? What do you mean, 'the real Naruto'?"

"Sorry, it's just that we had a poser attack us," Sora said putting her weapon away.

"But how did you know I was the real one?" Naruto asked.

"Only the real Naruto would be slow enough to not dodge the simple motion of me bringing a kunai up to your throat," Sasuke put bluntly.

"WHAT?" Naruto said getting mad. "Well, you blah, blah, bla-"

Sora clamped a hand over his mouth. "Ok, now that we're back together," she said trying to change the subject. "We should have a password just in case we get split up again." Naruto stopped trying to talk and she lowered her hand.

Sasuke nodded. "Ok, listen up. I'm only going to say it once."

"He sounds like those anal instructors," Naruto said to Sora. Sora couldn't help but giggle a little.

Sasuke glared at Naruto. "Shut up," he said. "This is the password. First, you will ask, 'The ninja song Ninki?' Then the other person will say, 'It is a good chance when a large number of enemies are making a scene, there are no hideouts even in a quiet place. It is important for a ninja to know the right time: the time when the enemy is tired, and has his guard down.' Got it?"

Sora nodded remembering it perfectly word for word. Naruto raised his hand. "Uh, could you repeat that please?"

"No."

"What? But I-"

"I memorized it right away," Sora interrupted Naruto catching on to what Sasuke was doing.

"Oh right!" Naruto said putting a hand behind his head. "Me too. HAHA!"

Sora smiled expecting such an answer from him. She gave a quick look at Sasuke who silently thanked her.

After Naruto was done nervously laughing he got up. "Geez, I need to pee!" The six bowls of Ramen had taken their toll. He got up and walked over to a nearby bush still visible to his two teammates.

"Naruto, that's gross!" Sora said turning quickly and shielding her eyes. "Can't you be a little more discreet about that kind of thing?"

"Sorry but it's gotta come out one way-"

"Stop it!" Sora said clamping her ears. _Geez, this guy has no tact whatsoever!_

"Fine, fine," Naruto said zipping his pants up again. "I'll be right back then."

As soon as Naruto was out of sight, the wind began to pick up. _Again?_ Sasuke thought as he whipped out his blade. "They're back," he said in a low voice.

This time all three Mist Genins appeared. "All right then, hand over your scroll and we'll let you live," the leader of the group said.

"Bite me," Sora said surprising herself along with Sasuke.

"With pleasure," the leader said sweeping his eyes over her body.

Sasuke's temper broke. "Bastard!" he yelled as he ran at the three with his blade pointed out.

"Sasuke!" Sora said but she heard some shuriken knives slice through the air. She barely dodged them. _Shoot._ Another gust of wind came at the group and the three were separated. Sora felt herself being thrown back but she flipped over and landed on the ground using her hand to make her stop sooner. She concentrated her energy into her hearing. _They're not here?_

Sasuke used his Sharingan to see through every single attack that was thrown at him. He knew that Sora and Naruto were nearby but not close enough to be in danger. He made sure none of the three Mist Genins left his little attack zone. Within minutes, they were all knocked out. He searched their clothing and found that they also had an Earth scroll. _Dammit, _he thought as he tucked it away in his pouch. _Just in case though._ Then he sensed someone approaching. It was Sora.

"Sasuke!" Sora said when she saw him and the three unconscious Mist Genins.

"Wait!" Sasuke said keeping his dagger out. "The ninja song Ninki?"

"Right," Sora said. "It is a good chance when a large number of enemies are making a scene, there are no hideouts even in a quiet place. It is important for a ninja to know the right time: the time when the enemy is tired, and has his guard down."

Sasuke gave a sigh of relief and lowered his dagger. Sora did the same. "Where's Naruto?" he asked.

"I-I don't know," Sora answered getting worried.

"Whe-what? Here!" Naruto said stumbling onto the scene.

"The ninja song Ninki?" Sasuke said getting tense again.

"Oh, yeah!" Naruto said. "It is a good chance when a large number of enemies are making a scene, there are no hideouts even in a quiet place. It is important for a ninja to know the right time: the time when the enemy is tired, and has his guard down."

Both Sora and Sasuke threw daggers at Naruto at the same time.

Naruto barely dodged and fell to the ground. "What? Hey! I said the pass-"

"You didn't think that we'd really fall for that?" Sora asked getting out another knife. "If you were the real Naruto, you would've said something along the lines of, 'I forgot.'"

"What? Then why'd you make a stupid password to begin with?"

"I knew you were listening so I made it long on purpose so that Naruto wouldn't remember it," Sasuke said.

"Aha, I see," Naruto-poser number 2 said slowly. He grinned evilly as his tongue slid over his lips.

_It's that guy,_ Sora thought, her eyes widening.

"Not a bad plan, Uchiha," the guy said as he transformed back to his original form. It was the snake-like Genin who had picked up Anko's blade after it cut Naruto. "Brilliant actually." He gave another chilling smile.

Once the snake guy's eyes transformed back, Sasuke froze. _What? I can feel his power from here? _He began to sweat. _This guy's too strong._

"What's the matter? Not so tough anymore?" the guy said approaching them slowly. "You want this?" He revealed a Heaven scroll.

Sasuke flinched at the sight of it. _Dammit._

"Well then, how about this?" He lifted his head and opened his mouth wide. He wrapped his tongue around the scroll and swallowed it whole. He opened his eyes. "Now let's begin." His eyes became wider so that the veins could be seen. A wave of his Chakra hit both Sasuke and Sora paralyzing them.

_It's that feeling again,_ Sasuke thought as he fell back. _This bloodthirsty intent to kill. He's really going to… _He looked over at Sora. She had fallen to her knees and was shaking.

_Who is this guy?_ Sora thought as she shook violently. _He's no Genin. _She tried to focus on her energy and managed to look up at the approaching figure. Her vision blurred. _Dammit._

"Already can't move?" the snake guy taunted as he took out two kunai knives. "Aw, that's too bad. I'd thought you'd be more fun." He saw Sora look up. _Such captivating eyes,_ he thought. He stared straight back into them. _So beautiful._

Sora tried to look away but couldn't. It was almost hypnotizing. _I…can't…move…_ She started gasping for air. _What is he doing?_

The snake man was also hypnotized, but by her. _She will be mine. _He raised his daggers.

_Move, MOVE!_ Sasuke screamed at himself. He saw Sora and the guy lock gazes. _Sora, look away!_ He tried to move his arm. _Dammit!_

"I guess, if this is the best you can do," the guy said, "you're time is up." He let the daggers fly.

_MOVE! _Sasuke screamed at himself. He forced himself to move his arm. He brought the dagger he was holding down into his leg letting the pain awaken him. _There!_ He immediately caught Sora in his arms and leaped away deeper in the forest.

The daggers stuck into a root of the tree behind where Sora and Sasuke used to be. _Hm, _the snake man thought. _As I expected._ He grinned evilly to himself and leaped off to find Sasuke and Sora.

Naruto crashed into a tree hard from the force of the wind. "Dammit," he muttered as he stood up. "Where are the others?" Then he felt a shadow over him. "Huh?" He looked up and saw a gigantic snake hovering above him. "Uh…uh…AHHH!" he screamed as he tried to run but it was too late.

The snake lunged forward and swallowed him whole. Naruto felt himself be pushed down the snake's throat into its belly. He couldn't see anything but he could feel the slime and smell the stink that was inside the snake. _Shit, this isn't good,_ he thought as he tried to move but he was too tightly squeezed to move much. He managed to get out his kunai knife. He took a stab at the snake but it couldn't cut through. The intestine layer was too think and slimy for the blade to cut through.

_No,_ he thought as he felt the burn of the acids of the snake eat at him. _I can't die here! I've got to pass this exam. I've got to become the Hokage! _He struggled more but that only pushed him further down into the snake. _Dammit…I can't die here, can I?_ Suddenly his life seemed to pass in front of his eyes. _Sora-chan…_ he thought. _I never got to tell you how I really feel about you. Sasuke…_ His grip tightened around the handle of his knife. _NO! I still need to beat that bastard and show him that I'm the better ninja!_ He forced his hand together in a seal. "Kage Buushin No Jutsu!" he yelled.

The snake felt something grow inside of him. He began to feel uncomfortable as the bulge in his stomach grew bigger.

"MORE! KAGE BUUSHIN NO JUTSU!" Naruto yelled more loudly. He replicated more and more until finally the snake burst open sending hundreds of Narutos flying everywhere. Soon they disappeared leaving one very sticky, smelly, but alive Naruto ready to kick butt. "Ok," he said to himself. "Now all I have to do is find Sora-chan and Sasuke." He got up and tried to wipe his face with his sleeve but found that his sleeve was equally gross. "DAMMIT!" he yelled in frustration. He ran off to find the others.

Outside of the forest, Anko was sitting on top of the pavilion eating some of her favorite rice balls. Then out of the blue, an examiner appeared. "Anko-sama!" he said kneeling down on one knee in respect.

"Yes? What is it?"

"It's, uh, we found three dead bodies," he said.

"Well, that's not unusual-"

"Outside the forest gates!"

"What?" She jumped down. "Where?"

"This way," he said as he leapt up in the air. Anko followed. They arrived near some standing stones put to mark graves of past ninjas. There were three bodies of Grass Genins lying there mutilated and without faces.

_What? Is _he_ here?_ Anko thought, sweat forming on her face. _That's impossible._

"Anko-sama," the examiner said.

"Yes," she said snapping back. "Ok, get at least 5 ANBU squads down here immediately and tell Hokage-sama that _he's_ here. I'll go in the forest and see what's happening."

"Uh, yes, ma'am." He took off.

Anko ran towards the forest. _He's here, that snake-like Genin who picked up my knife. It was him! I know it._

"Sasuke!" Sora said after he had stopped running and put her down. "O my god, Sasuke, are you ok?" She helped him sit up against a tree.

Sasuke was breathing heavily trying to forget the images of death he had seen in the snake man's eyes and the pain in his leg. Sora quickly got a bandage she had in her pouch and began wrapping the wound to stop the bleeding. Sasuke cringed in pain as his thoughts came back to reality. He grabbed Sora's hand instinctively.

"Sasuke, we need to stop the bleeding," Sora said patiently removing his hand. He nodded still unable to speak. "Ok, I'll count to three and then I'll tighten the bandages." Sasuke shut his eyes. "One, two-"

"HOLY SHIT!"

"-three."

"Geez, Sora! I thought you said three!" he tried to say softly but at the same time clutching his leg.

"Well, I said three because I knew you wouldn't tense up until three and not two. See?" Sora grabbed his hands to keep him from touching his wound.

"It still hurt like hell," Sasuke grumbled.

Sora smiled but then realized that their hands were intertwined with one another. She blushed and broke the connection. "Uh, shouldn't we find Naru-"

Sasuke clamped a hand over her mouth. "I hear something," he whispered looking to his right.

Sora held completely still but then noticed a huge shadow above them from Sasuke's left. She panicked and tried to get Sasuke's attention. "MM! MMMMM!" she struggled.

"SH!"

"MMMMMM!" Sora finally hit Sasuke's hand away. "Snake to the left, you idiot!" she yelled as she threw him to the right away from danger.

"What?" Sasuke yelled as he flew threw the air. "Sora!" He landed on the ground. _I need to get higher! _He jumped up to a lower branch and then began to go from branch to branch until he could see the entire area. He saw the snake crashing through the bushes diving at some unseen target. _Sora!_ He raced through the branches towards the slithering beast and threw three shuriken knives at its neck.

Meanwhile, Sora was trying to dodge the many attacks from the snake while keeping it away from where she threw Sasuke. _Huge snake?_ she said to herself while jumping away from the branch she had previously been on and was now splinters as the snake charged through it. _Its skin is armored,_ she thought as she managed to get on its back. _Just like that other one. _She thought back on her first "training" session with Naruto. Then she heard three clashes and saw three shuriken knives fall straight for her. "What the heck?" she yelled as she barely caught them before they hit her. "Sasuke!" She turned her gaze upwards and saw Sasuke in a tree scanning the area for her. "DOWN HERE!" she yelled as the snake realized that something was on its back.

Sasuke spotted Sora riding the snake. "Sora!"

"Get out of here," she screamed as she threw 10 exploding tags on the snake's back. She leaped off the snake with ease to where Sasuke was standing. She grabbed his arm and was about to jump away when the tags exploded the snake open sending the two Genins backwards to the ground. Snake guts were falling everywhere. Sasuke managed to shield Sora from the falling body parts as they skidded to a stop against a tree.

"Sora!" he gasped as the forest became still again. "You-"

"Sasuke, come on get up!" Sora said pushing him off. "Oh yeah, and here're your shuriken." She tossed them to him.

He caught them in surprise. "Oh, I-"

"It's ok," Sora said smiling. She began to pick snake parts out of his hair. "That's gross."

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

Sora laughed. "Sorry, I should be thanking you for covering me." She flicked some snake off of his shirt. "But you do need to bathe when we find a stream, ok?"

"Sure," Sasuke said in annoyance. He grabbed her arm to stop her from cleaning him.

"Well, isn't that cute?" a slithering voice said from behind the two.

Both of them turned in a heartbeat to see who had spoken. "It's him again," Sasuke said getting in front of Sora again.

"I'm sorry. Did I interrupt some intimate moment?" the snake man said licking his lips.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the man and said nothing.

"I did? Good." He rushed towards them, his neck elongating like a snake.

"Jump, now!" Sasuke said. Sora nodded and leaped up on a branch as Sasuke clashed iron with the man. Sasuke flipped up in the air over the man landing behind him and gave a spinning kick from behind. The man dodged and slashed through the air where Sasuke once was. Sasuke had artfully gotten around the man again and went straight at him with his kunai. The man blocked the attack with his blade and the two were thrown apart from the impact.

"Very good," the man said standing up. "Just as I would expect from the Uchiha heir." He came at Sasuke again creating seals as he ran.

Sasuke did the seal progression for his fire ball. "Fire Ball Jutsu!" he said as he put his hand to his mouth. He aimed the fire blast at the approaching man. The branch went up in flames where he hit. _Did I get him?_

Sora was watching from her hiding spot in the tree. _I've got to help him!_ she thought as she moved silently through the leaves. But then the tree she was in shook violently making her fall to the ground. She managed to land on her feet but not as gracefully as she would have liked. "What the-" Another snake had appeared and had crashed into her tree. "AHH!" she yelled dodging the snake's tail as it came crashing down to the ground. She was thrown back from the wind it created but she kept her stance. "Another one?"

The snake lunged forward with its fangs out. Sora couldn't get out of the way fast enough. _I'll have to try and block it!_ she thought as she got out two kunai blades. She steadied herself and pointed the blades forward. _Ready and-_ Sora and the snake clashed head on. Sora focused all of her body energy into her legs and arms as they skidded back through the bushes. Sora's two knives had punctured the snake's armored skin in its nose from the impact and her feet dug into the ground building up dirt as they kept moving back. Then finally they stopped. _My arms are going to break!_ she thought as she tried to push back. "AH!" she shouted as she finally managed to push the giant snake back just a bit so that she could get out of the way. The snake's head burrowed into the ground.

Sora's arms and legs felt like jelly. She collapsed on the ground. _Dammit,_ she thought as she wiped her mouth. The snake raised its head again but it wasn't looking at her. She followed the snake's gaze and saw Sasuke and the snake man fighting on a tree branch. "Oh no you don't!" Sora yelled as she forced her legs to spring her onto the snake. The snake shook its head trying to get her off but she made herself hang on and tried to make her way down to its eye. She reached for a shuriken knife.

Sasuke and the man were still fighting head on. Neither had gotten a scratch yet. "I'm even more impressed now that I'm fighting you one on one," the man said taking another swing at Sasuke.

"What?" he said. _Where's Sora?_

"Oh, are you thinking about that red-haired beauty?" the man said as they separated from another attack.

"Shut up," Sasuke spat. He was running out of energy. _Geez, this guy's too strong,_ he thought panting.

"She's busy with my pet," the man said pointing at the snake who was now looking at them.

Sasuke saw Sora making her way down to its eyes. _No, Sora! He can see you!_

The man made a signal and another snake appeared seemingly out of nowhere. "Shall I make them attack?" he asked a frozen Sasuke.

Sora saw the other snake and stopped in her tracks. _Wha-another one? _she mentally screamed. The snake she was on moved towards the second snake who had its mouth open.

"NO!" Sasuke shouted suddenly loud enough for the snakes to hear. They paused. "No," he said again. "Look, this is what you want right?" He took out the Earth scroll he had gotten from the Mist team he had defeated earlier.

The snake man smiled evilly and licked his lips. "I suppose," he said.

"Then take it and leave us alone," Sasuke said with a shaky voice. "Let her go!" The man nodded his head and Sasuke threw the scroll in the air towards the man.

"NO!" Naruto's voice came from a distance. A kunai blade cut through the air and struck the scroll pinning it to the tree in between the two on the branch.

"What? Naruto?" Sasuke said as he saw Naruto approaching.

"YO!" Naruto yelled as he landed on a nearby tree branch. "Sorry, I forgot the password."

The snakes shifted their senses to the new presence. Sora took the opportunity to jump off the snake onto a tree branch. "Naruto!" she said as she landed.

"Naruto you BAKA!" Sasuke yelled at him losing his cool.

"What? Hey I just saved our asses you dobe!" Naruto yelled back.

"It's the only way. He's way beyond our level! We can't win!" Sasuke said angrily.

Naruto grew silent for a while stared at Sasuke. "You…you're an imposter!" Naruto shouted as he ran towards him.

"What?"

A snake lunged forward at Sasuke at the same time Naruto was closing in. Naruto twisted in mid air to face the oncoming snake as he whipped out two daggers. His eyes became pointed as his irises changed from blue to red. His teeth grew longer as did his nails. Naruto landed on the branch in front of Sasuke and stopped the snake's attack.

Sasuke was stunned. _No way…_

Then Naruto let go of the dagger handles and punched Sasuke in the cheek sending him stumbling to the side. "The real Sasuke isn't a coward like this," Naruto growled in a low voice. He looked up revealing his eyes.

Sasuke steadied himself from the attack. "Naruto, you idiot! I'm real!"

"Naruto!" Sora yelled unable to go to the boys because the snakes were blocking the way. "He's real! Believe us!" _When did he get so powerful?_ she thought remembering what the same attack from the snake did to her.

"No," Naruto said breathing heavily. "The real Sasuke wouldn't give in to a pathetic ass like this guy." He turned quickly to face the snake man. "Now you'll fight me!" He ran towards the man.

_Is this kid the fox demon?_ the man thought as Naruto ran towards him. He caught Naruto's fist in his hand and grabbed his neck with the other. He held Naruto over the ground off of the branch.

"You bastard!" Naruto snarled digging his claws into the guy's hand. He was struggling to breathe.

"Hm." The man let go of Naruto's fist and lifted Naruto's shirt. He saw black markings surrounding his navel. _He is the fox demon child,_ he thought. _The seal has risen to the surface. I must stop it._ He made a one-handed seal. "Gogyo Fuuin (Five Element Seal)!" His five fingers began to glow with a bluish flame, then he jammed them into Naruto's stomach.

"AHHH!" Naruto went limp as five black marks appeared around the seal.

The man laughed. "Well," he said throwing Naruto off the branch. "Let's get back to business shall we?" He turned to face Sasuke.

"Naruto!" Sora said as she saw him fall. She threw a dagger and it caught onto Naruto's shirt and pinned him to a tree before he could fall to his death. "Sasuke! Snap out of it!" she screamed at the unmoving Sasuke.

"I…I…" he stuttered. _I can't._ As the man slowly walked towards him, his mind made him think he was seeing his brother. _It's him,_ he breathed. Hatred welled up inside of him as he prepared to fight. "I won't lose!" He charged.

_Good, _the man thought as he readied himself but instead of attacking Sasuke, the man dodged Sasuke's attack and sent a wave of Chakra straight for Sora.

Sora couldn't feel it or see it coming since she didn't have her own Chakra to sense with anymore and it hit her head on. She was thrown back through the forest crashing through small branches and tree trunks, breaking them from the impact. Then she slammed up against a humongous tree trunk and stopped. Blood was coughed up out of her mouth as she fell to the ground.

_Stupid,_ she thought as she tried to will away the pain. She struggled to get up and managed to get on her hands and knees. She turned her head and spat out the pooling blood in her mouth. "Stay awake!" she said out loud. Her vision doubled. She felt like her body was falling apart as she breathed. Amazingly her back and limbs weren't broken but she could feel broken ribs puncture her insides. She hacked up some more blood. "Ugh." She breathed in deeply and slowly though it sent a severe shock of pain throughout her entire body. It seemed to make her feel a little better. She stood up shakily leaning on the tree trunk for support. _Sasuke, Naruto,_ she thought. "Move, you idiot," she said to herself as she slowly put one foot in front of the other. She swaggered a bit but kept upright. She sighed at the path in front of her. _I've got a long way to go._

"SORA!" Sasuke yelled as he saw the Chakra wave hit her. "NO!" His Sharingan appeared on its own as he turned viciously towards the snake man. "You bastard!" He ran at the man making his fire ball seals. "Fire Ball Jutsu!" It seemed to hit the man but Sasuke knew better than to let his guard down.

The man attacked from behind but Sasuke was ready and blocked it with his kunai. "Now that we're alone," the man said as they fought with lightening speed attacks. "I'll finish you slowly."

"You wish," Sasuke snarled as he dodged another swipe of the man's blade.

"And after I'm done with you," the snake man continued, "I'm gonna take your pretty bitch."

"GO TO HELL!" Sasuke screamed as his eyes glowed with rage. His body seemed to move on its own at an amazing speed. Faster than Sasuke knew he could move, but he didn't notice. He was too enraged. "I'LL KILL YOU!" He knocked the man off his feet and punched him square in the face.

_What? _the man thought as he flew back into the trunk of the tree. His face looked like it was mutilated from the blow. _He's even stronger than I thought._ He let his body melt into the tree but left his face visible.

Sasuke stopped. "Who the hell are you?" he asked holding his dagger up. The man's face was peeling as if it was only a mask. Two new eyes were staring at Sasuke now. They looked like serpent's eyes. Sasuke felt his fear beginning to return. _This guy…_ He backed up until he felt a branch stop him. He turned his head. "What?"

It was the man. "Now that my body is part of this tree I can move to wherever I want to," the man said laughing evilly. "You're even more than I expected." The man extended his arms from the branch and trapped Sasuke, pinning him to the main branch. "I must leave you with a small present then," he said leaning his head down towards Sasuke's neck.

"Get away from me!" Sasuke yelled as he struggled to get up. The man sunk his fangs into the crook of Sasuke's neck leaving behind three black marks. "AHHH!" Sasuke screamed in pain as he felt a blazing fire rip his insides. Then he lost consciousness.

The man smiled at his work and released Sasuke. _He will be the perfect body,_ he thought. He glanced at the scroll still pinned to the tree. _Ah, yes, their scroll. I'll be taking that._ He melted back into the tree taking the scroll and dagger as well and disappeared.

Sora finally made it back to where Sasuke and Naruto were. She wanted to just lie down and sleep forever but she forced herself to stay awake. She clumsily climbed up the tree where Naruto was still hanging unconscious. She willed herself to hold onto him as she took the knife out of the tree trunk. She almost dropped him but they made it safely to the ground.

She scanned the area looking for Sasuke and spotted his unconscious form on a higher tree branch. _I'm going to die…climbing trees,_ she thought miserably. She moved to start climbing again but winced in pain as she felt her broken ribs scrape her insides. She started hacking up blood again but she spit it out after a while and calmed herself down. "Geez," she mumbled as she started climbing again ignoring her aching muscles. She reached the branch and crawled over to Sasuke. "Sasuke?" she said hoping that he was somewhat conscious but once she saw his face, she knew he was out. "Dammit," she muttered as she hoisted him over her shoulder. She stumbled from the weight but kept walking. She slowly climbed back down the tree and laid him gently next to Naruto.

_This would be the absolute worst time to be attacked now, _she thought as she searched for a place to stay for the rest of the day and night. Then she heard running water. _What? A stream?_ she thought with a spark of hope. She used the rest of her strength to drag the two boys towards the place where she heard water and luckily, it was a stream. She also found a small shelter made by the roots of a tree that probably used to be submerged under water. She laid the boys side by side under the roots but then she noticed something on Sasuke's neck. _What?_ She leaned in closer and saw that it was a seal. _Did that man…?_ she thought as she touched the mark. "Ow!" she cried out in pain as she felt it burn her skin. She pulled back her hand and saw that the fingers that had touched the mark were burned badly. She also saw Sasuke move. "Sasuke?" she said hopefully but he didn't open his eyes. He was sweating.

Sora stuck her burned fingers in her mouth to cool the burning sensation and took out two cloths from her pouch. _Heh, it's amazing how much can fit inside this thing,_ she thought with a sad laugh. She dipped the cloths in the water with her burned hand and let the coolness of the water soothe her skin. She walked back to the boys and put a cloth on each of their heads. "There," she said to herself. "Now as long as no one attacks us, we should be ok until morning." She knew they couldn't hear her but she felt better talking to someone. She wanted to lie down and close her eyes but knew that she had to set up traps and keep watch in case someone did try to attack them. She sighed and started to set the traps up.

Anko ran through the forest looking for him. _That bastard's after someone,_ she thought as she jumped from branch to branch. She lifted her hand to touch her neck feeling the old mark come alive. _He's close. _She stopped to look around and spotted him. His body was still in the tree but his face was visible. "YOU!" she snarled viciously as she got out her dagger.

"Nice to see you too, Anko," he said smiling maliciously.

"I should've killed you back then," she said putting her dagger up against his face. "But now I will repay my debts."

"Oh, I don't think you can kill me," he said as the tree began to melt down. He stepped out revealing his true form. "You wouldn't kill your old sensei." He slowly took her wrist and pointed the dagger downwards.

Anko couldn't move. She could only stare at him with fear in her eyes.

"Afraid?" he said stepping forward and pushing her back. "Afraid and, what is this? Jealous are we?" He backed her into a tree.

"You must be crazy," Anko spat.

He laughed. "Ah, yes," he said. "So you figured me out, huh?" He leaned in close. "Don't worry. You had your share of my favor. If this Uchiha boy makes it through, he will only be another body for me. He will come to me seeking for power as you did."

Anko shut her eyes as she felt his tongue slide over her mark on her neck. She shuddered. "Get back you snake!"

"Funny you use that word," he said releasing her. "Fine, I'll go then. Be a good girl while I'm gone." He disappeared.

"NO!" Anko said getting up. "NO! I'll kill you! I'll kill you, Orochimaru!" She threw her dagger at the disappearing figure but it went right through and struck the trunk of the tree behind him. She was breathing hard. _No, I've got to warn Hokage-sama._ She took off running towards the center of the forest.

Sora was done setting up all the traps she could set up. She sat down in front of the entrance to their little shelter completely exhausted and in considerable pain. She coughed up some more blood and spat it out on the grass. "Dammit," she said wiping her mouth. _If we're attacked, I won't be able to hold out for long._ Then she saw a squirrel approaching. "Huh?" It got too close. "GET AWAY!" she yelled as she threw a shuriken at it not meaning to hit it. The squirrel ran away scared. She sighed. "This is going to be the longest day ever."

"Did she see it?" Zaku whispered to his teammates from their hiding place.

"No, I think she was just being overly cautious," Kin said quietly.

Dosu nodded his head. "We'll attack when I give the signal. Got it?" The other two nodded.

Meanwhile, Neji, Lee, and Tenten had decided to split up and spy on the other teams to find out which ones had the scroll they needed. They had an Earth scroll as well.

Lee had spied on a few teams but now he was bored and it wasn't time yet to return to the agreed meeting place. He walked across the branch he was standing on not paying attention to where he was going and he ran into the trunk. "Ow," he said rubbing his head. Then he saw that some leaves had fallen from the impact and were now floating to the ground. "Huh?" He quickly counted them. "Ok!" he said out loud. "If I catch these 15 leaves before they hit the ground, Sora will love me!" He dived off the branch and began collecting the leaves. "1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14-huh?" He spotted a squirrel with its back on fire. "What the-" CRASH "ow…" He landed on his head on the ground and the last leaf floated to the ground inches from his face. He sighed sadly, but then he recovered quickly and ran over to the squirrel and peeled off the explosion tag and put it out expertly. "Who would do such a thing?" he said as he released the frightened squirrel. It ran into the bushes. He decided to investigate and followed the trail of ashes left behind by the squirrel.

"NOW!" Dosu said and the three jumped out of their hiding place straight for Sora.

She didn't flinch. "Heh, I thought you guys were hiding back there," she said. She watched as the ground underneath the three Sound Genins crumble.

"It's a trap!" Kin gasped as she jumped away. The others did the same.

"Hah," Zaku said. "Your pathetic little traps won't work on us."

Sora gave him a smile and tilted a kunai knife that was in the ground. It was connected to some wire string that held a huge log above them.

"What another one?" Zaku said as the log came crashing down on them.

The dust rose in the air and Sora couldn't see what was going on. _Dammit,_ she thought as she shielded her eyes. _I can't see._

Then she heard laughter. "You didn't think that we couldn't survive that, did you?" Dosu's voice was heard. The dust settled as the three appeared standing a few feet in front of her.

"No," Sora said getting up. "That would've been no fun for me." _I can't believe I'm saying this. _She got out her knife ready to fight but then-

"NO! I'LL PROTECT YOU, MY LOVE!" Lee shouted as he jumped in front of her.

"Lee?" Sora asked in shock.

He turned his head slightly and winked. "I will always protect you, no matter what!" he said and turned back to face the three Sound Genins.

"You?" Kin asked laughing. "How romantic." She shot Sora a look.

Sora was unfazed. "Lee, you can't! You might get-"

"You three'd better just run away," Lee said interrupting Sora. "I will not lose."

Dosu laughed. "I heard that you can't even use your ninja techniques, Lee," he said cruelly.

Lee flinched but kept his stance. "Well, I'm here to tell you that hard work and perseverance can overcome any obstacle!"

Dosu ran at Lee. "This one's mine!" He pulled back his sleeve revealing his metal arm.

"Hah! Too slow!" Lee said as he seemed to appear out of nowhere behind Dosu.

"What?"

"Take this!" Lee kicked Dosu to the side but didn't stay around to watch him fly. He appeared on the other side of Dosu and punched him in the face. "And this!"

Finally Dosu landed in safety away from Lee who was back in front of Sora. "Fine then," Dosu said dangerously. "You can't go faster than the speed of sound!" he roared as he sent a punch straight at Lee.

Lee blocked it with ease and sent Dosu back but the sound waves pierced his ears and they began to bleed.

"LEE!" Sora said as he fell to his knees and covered his ears. She watched him as he shuddered in pain from the attack. "What? How did it not affect me?"

"I aimed my sound waves directly at his ears only," Dosu said. "Any stronger and his eardrum would rupture making him permanently deaf." He laughed cruelly.

Sora didn't dare move towards Lee for fear of them attacking her teammates.

"Now, you're next," he said as he ran at her.

"NO!" Lee appeared in front of her again and tackled him backwards.

"We've got to help," Kin said as she grabbed Zaku's arm. They jumped into the cloud of dust that had risen from the fighting.

"No!" Sora gasped as she tried to get up quickly to help but she fell back down to her knees coughing up more blood. "Lee…" she coughed as she spat more blood out.

When she looked up, she saw that Dosu had gotten a nice kick in his face and was a little dazed and Kin had been knocked out but Zaku was standing over an unconscious Lee who was face down on the ground. "Hah," he said. "He couldn't take on all three of us." Lee was bleeding from his head.

"You bastard," Sora spat as she forced herself to rise.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," he said approaching her. "You're mine." He moved faster than Sora could detect and she soon felt his arms around her neck and waist. He tightened.

_He's too fast,_ she thought as she tried to get his arm off of her neck. She was gasping for air.

Zaku buried his head in her hair, inhaling as he did. "Ah, you smell good," he said licking her ear. "So fine…" he loosened his grip around her neck and slowly traveled down her neck and over her breasts.

Sora couldn't fight back since her arms where trapped by his arm around her waist. "You pervert!" she gasped out.

"Aw, no need for name calling," he said as he unbuttoned her first button on her dress. "I'm gonna take you right now, you little bitch." He growled as he continued to unbutton her dress. He leaned his head down to her neck and began kissing and sucking her skin leaving marks all down to her shoulder.

"No," Sora said weakly as she struggled but her body was too exhausted and her ribs were irritating her more than ever now.

No one had noticed that during Lee's fight, Sasuke had begun glowing and he was now fully awake. The mark had spread across his face and arm. It glowed brightly like a fire. "Get your hands off her, bastard," he said as he stepped out from the shelter.

Zaku turned around taking Sora with him so that she was in front of him. "Oh yeah? Well take her from me, asshole," he spat.

Sasuke saw that Sora's dress had been unbuttoned almost down to her stomach revealing her bindings. "Let her go," Sasuke said darkly.

_He sounds possessed,_ Sora thought fearfully. _Is he going to lose control again? _"Sasuke!" she yelled trying to get through to him but it was too late.

Sasuke moved faster than a blink of the eye and separated Sora and Zaku sending them off in opposite directions.

Zaku crashed into the ground. "What the hell?" He saw Sasuke approaching with fire burning in his eyes. Zaku thrust out his arms. "Air Cutter!" he yelled as a streamline of air came rushing out of the two holes in the palms of his hands.

Sasuke dodged by getting behind him and grabbing his arms. "Interesting attack," Sasuke said putting his foot on Zaku's back and pulling. "You must be very proud of these arms then, huh?" He smiled cruelly as Zaku squirmed in pain.

"Let me go, please?" Zaku pleaded.

"Not after what you did," Sasuke said viciously. He jerked back forcefully snapping Zaku's arms out of their sockets.

Zaku screamed out in pain and he felt his arms go limp after Sasuke dropped them. He went unconscious from the pain.

Sasuke turned his sights on Dosu. "Now, I'll kill you all!" he yelled as he got out a kunai.

"NO!" Sora yelled as she rushed up behind Sasuke and threw her arms around him holding him back. She leaned her head against his back nearly in tears. _How could-how could he be so cruel?_ she asked herself. "Stop, Sasuke! Please stop!" she pleaded as she felt his power increase. She began to feel the burning pain again as the seal kept spreading. "No…" she whispered then she put her arm up across his chest and clamped her hand over the seal on his neck. She screamed out in pain as the mark began to burn through her skin but she didn't let go.

The fire began to shrink back into the seal and Sasuke began to regain control. _What?_ he thought as he felt the burning marks all over his body move back towards his neck. He felt a soothing icy coldness on the place where Orochimaru had marked him. Then he closed his eyes and slumped down to the ground in a sitting position. The fire vanished from his eyes and he heard Sora's voice.

"Stop, Sasuke…" Her hand felt like it was going to burn off but she kept it there. Then she felt Sasuke's hand lift her own from the mark. She collapsed forward leaning on his back completely worn out.

Sasuke looked at her hand and saw the imprint of his mark in the palm of her hand. It had burned almost all the way to the bone and was still glowing. _No…_ he thought. _No, Sora…no!_ He quickly moved her so that she was in his lap. "Sora," he said looking in her eyes keeping her hand tightly in his grasp. "Why?"

Sora couldn't respond but smiled weakly.

Dosu had felt the immense power radiating from Sasuke. He looked at the two and then at his teammates. _We can't beat him, Orochimaru-sensei,_ he thought. _Why did you send us to kill him if you knew we couldn't beat him? _He got their Heaven scroll out of his pouch and placed it down on the ground. Then he picked up his unconscious teammates. "We'll leave you now, Uchiha, but if we ever meet again, we won't run away." With that he disappeared.

Sasuke used a bit of his Chakra to levitate the scroll over to his hand. He tucked it away in his pouch.

"LEE!" a female voice called through the forest.

Sasuke looked over and saw an unconscious Lee lying a few feet away. "Over here," he called to the voice recognizing it as Lee's teammate, Tenten.

She stepped out from the bushes. "Lee!" she gasped when she saw him. "We said no fighting! What did you do to yourself?" She knelt down to one knee and touched his arm.

Lee stirred and slowly opened his eyes. Then he bolted up. "SORA!" he shouted as he looked around. Then he saw Sasuke holding her. "Is…is she ok?" he asked trying to stand.

Sasuke just stared at him wondering why he was here and why he was unconscious to begin with.

"Lee," Tenten said in annoyance now knowing the reason why he had fought. "You should've met us back there like 10 minutes ago! We were worried!" She grabbed his arm. "Thanks," she added to Sasuke.

Sasuke nodded as he watched Tenten drag Lee back into the forest. They were left alone now. "Sora?" he said as he stood up with her in his arms. She had lost consciousness. He sighed when he saw Naruto under the shelter and leaned up against the side of the root placing Sora in his lap again. _Well, we're off to a great start…_

The next morning Naruto finally woke up. "AHHH! That was a nice nap! What'd I miss?" he asked no one. "Huh?"

Sasuke was near the stream while Sora was resting against a tree near him. Naruto crawled out from under the shelter and yawned. "Hey," he called as he approached Sora.

She turned her head and smiled weakly. "Hey," she said back. "How're you feeling?"

Naruto saw that her chest area had been wrapped with bandages and her arms and legs had been cut up pretty badly. "What happened to you? I mean, uh, how are _you_ feeling?" he asked sitting next to her with a worried look on his face.

"Oh, I'm ok," she said sighing and looking back over to a shirtless Sasuke who had caught three fish and was coming back on shore. "We just ran into some trouble, that's all."

"Some trouble!" Naruto exclaimed. "You look like you've got some serious injuries!"

Sora smiled at his anxiety. She put a hand on his arm. "I'm fine, really," she said.

Sasuke walked up to his teammates and grabbed his shirt which was hanging on a low branch. "Get a fire going," he ordered Naruto as he tossed the fish into Naruto's lap.

"What?" Naruto said staring at the fish.

"I said, get a fire going," Sasuke repeated rolling his eyes.

"Ok, ok," Naruto grumbled getting up. "Geez."

Sora smiled at the two's bickering and tried to sigh but the intake of air started her coughing again. She covered her hand over her mouth and tried to stop it but Sasuke noticed and quickly kneeled down. "Sora," he said gently as he put his hand against her back rubbing it gently.

"No," she gasped out. "I'm fine." She slowed her breathing and was soon back to normal. "I'm fine." She tried to get up.

Sasuke shook his head and picked her up. "You need more rest," he said as he carried her over to where Naruto was starting a fire.

Sora slightly blushed when she noticed that he still hadn't put on his shirt yet and he was carrying her. "It's ok, I can walk," she mumbled.

"Hm? What was that?" Sasuke pretended not to hear her.

Sora sighed knowing that he wouldn't let her walk. She let him place her down next to the fire.

"We're going to have to stay here for a few days for all of us to recover," Sasuke said as he sat next to her.

"Yeah. That's probably a good idea," Naruto agreed while shearing the scales off of the fish with his knife.

_Whoa, that's the first thing they've ever agreed on,_ Sora thought in amazement.

Sasuke noticed her look of shock. "What?"

Sora laughed. "Oh, nothing. It's just that I think this is the first thing you guys have agreed on ever since I met you," she said.

"Haha, very funny," Naruto said as he place each fish on a stick and put them over the fire.

Sasuke didn't say anything. _Come to think of it, it's true, _he thought. _We must be agreeing with each other for Sora._

Soon the fish were cooked and eaten and the day passed as the team rested. Sasuke had put some of his Chakra into Sora's body but she was still healing slowly because of the seal and also because Sasuke didn't really know how to heal other people effectively with his Chakra. Two more days passed and finally Sora seemed well enough to fight. On the last morning of the exam after an early breakfast, Sasuke offered to go get some water from the stream and left.

While he was gone, Naruto became restless. "Sora?" he asked as he twiddled his thumbs.

"Hm?" she said opening her eyes to look at him.

"I've been wondering," he said looking to see if Sasuke was coming back. "I mean, we don't have any scrolls do we? Since that snake guy took ours and…"

Sora smiled. "Oh, I forgot to tell you," she said taking out the scroll from her secret pocket. "The one Sasuke had was from the Mist Genins that separated us the first time with the air blast, remember? I still had ours the entire time."

Naruto looked relieved. "Really? Whoa, I had no idea!" he said. Then curiosity got the better of him. "Don't you think we should open it?"

Sora looked at Naruto in disbelief. "What? Didn't you hear the rules? We can't open it until we reach the center with the scroll of Heaven."

"But," Naruto whined. "Maybe they just said that to keep potential clues from us. I mean, they tested our thinking skills with that first exam thing, right? What if this is just another information gathering test?"

Sora looked at him and shook her head. "Naruto, we can't. What if-"

"I mean," Naruto said interrupting her. "The worst that could happen is that-"

"You could get disqualified," a voice said from behind him.

"Wha?"

Sora looked up and saw Kabuto. "Kabuto-san?" she said in surprise.

"Hey, sorry to scare you guys like that," he said waving and sitting down in between Sora and Naruto. "But trust me, you don't want to open that up."

Naruto turned red with embarrassment. "I, uh…"

"It's ok," Kabuto said. "I think it was two years ago, they put a sleeping seal inside the scrolls that was active until it passed through the door of the central building. If someone opened it, they would stay asleep until the end of the exam and then they'd be disqualified."

"See?" Sora said with a taunting look at Naruto.

Naruto crossed his arms. "Of course! I was just testing you!"

Sora smiled and shook her head. "So, have you gotten your scrolls yet?" she asked Kabuto.

"M-hm," Kabuto said as he took out two scrolls. "You?"

Sora looked down. "Well, we kind of ran into trouble the first day so we haven't really had the opportunity to get another scroll."

"Oh, I see," Kabuto said kindly. "You still have all day today to get it though, and we're pretty close to the central building."

"Really?" Naruto asked getting excited.

"Then that must mean all the other teams unlucky enough to have only one scroll are all surrounding the central building to try and trap the incoming teams," Sora said thoughtfully.

"Yeah," Kabuto said as he put his scrolls away. Sora did the same.

Sasuke finally came back, but when he saw Kabuto he immediately got out his kunai. "HEY!" he yelled as he ran up to the group. "Get back!"

"No, wait, Sasuke!" Sora said as she stood up putting herself in between Kabuto and Sasuke's knife. "He's ok. We were just talking."

"No, he's an enemy!" Sasuke said still not putting down his knife.

"Sasuke!"

"Kabuto," he said ignoring Sora. "I challenge you for your scrolls!"

Kabuto looked at Sasuke and saw that he wasn't really serious because he could've just attacked him instead of making an open challenge. Plus he noticed a bulge in Sasuke's pouch. "Why?" he asked nonchalantly. "You already have both scrolls."

Naruto jumped up. "What?" he asked excitedly.

"We do?" Sora asked Sasuke.

Sasuke glared at Kabuto still suspicious partly because of his old habit of not trusting anyone and partly because he was a little too close to Sora for his comfort. "Yeah," he said lowering his dagger. He took out the Heaven scroll.

Sora's eyes widened. "We've been sitting here for three days and we've had both scrolls all along?" she said.

"WOW! I can't believe it!" Naruto said jumping up and down doing a little dance. "That means all we have to do now is to get past all those freaks who haven't gotten two scrolls yet and then we'll pass the exam!"

Kabuto smiled and nodded. "Yup," he said. "But we need to be extra careful because there are people that, well, I like to call them collectors, but they keep extra scrolls to give to enemies in exchange for going free or to give them to friends who are in the same village. That way, they can gain information to get through the remaining exams more easily, or crush strong enemies to get to the third part of the exam."

Sasuke looked at Kabuto closely. _Hm,_ he thought. _So you're afraid of these collectors too. That's why you want us to go along with you. _"Fine, let's go," he said as he put out the fire.

Kabuto smiled and offered an arm to Sora. Sora smiled and took it because she knew that she was still going to need as much help as she could get for walking so she could save her energy for fighting. Sasuke and Naruto turned green with envy.

"Hey, come on you guys," Sora called unaware of what she just did. "It's almost 9!" The two guys grunted and followed behind. After walking for a few hours, the group decided to take a small break for lunch. Nothing had happened so far but the guys were beginning to feel the other groups' Chakra around the area. They ate in silence not wanting to attract unwanted attention from other Genins or animals.

Then Naruto noticed something moving. "WATCH OUT!" he yelled as he flung his kunai over the head of Sasuke who was just finishing up his meal. Sasuke ducked but just barely.

"What the hell?" he said angrily.

"Hey, I just saved your life!" Naruto insisted. "There was a huge bug right above your head!"

Sasuke turned to see that there was indeed a huge beetle that was now dead above his head. Its insides were beginning to spill out. He quickly moved from his spot to avoid getting bug guts all over him.

"That's just gross," Sora said putting down the remainder of her meal not hungry anymore. After finishing up, they resumed their slow and careful walk. It was sometime in the early afternoon when they finally saw the central building in the distance.

"Hey, we're almost there!" Naruto said excitedly.

"Yeah, but this is the hardest part to get through," Kabuto said cautiously. "We've got to look out for any traps that might be hidden or any illusions we might walk into."

The others nodded their heads and they continued walking even more alert than before. After an hour or so, the central building looked just as far away as it did before and their surroundings began to look vaguely familiar. "What?" Sora said suddenly as she looked at a tree.

"Hm? What is it?" Kabuto asked.

"It's strange, but I think we've been walking in circles."

"Are you sure?" Naruto asked looking around. He didn't really recognize anything, but then again he had somewhat of a short term memory.

Sora nodded. "Yeah, I'm positive we've passed this place before. That bug Naruto killed during lunch is right there!"

The group looked in horror at the insect that was now being dissembled by a million smaller insects. "There's no mistaking it," Kabuto said. "Naruto's kunai is still there. That means we've already fallen into someone's illusion without even knowing it for the last hour!"

"What?" Naruto said getting alarmed.

"Shut up," Sasuke said harshly. "I can sense someone coming." Out of the bushes appeared an army of clones of a Rain Genin.

"So," one said, "you've finally figured it out, huh?"

"Took you long enough," another mocked.

Naruto was mad at being tricked for so long and his temper broke. "Shut the hell up!" he snarled. "I'll take care of this!" He ran forward and sliced through a clone. It split apart like some sort of liquid and then reformed itself. "What?"

"Ha ha ha," the clone laughed. "You can't beat me."

"Naruto!" Sasuke said as another clone attacked Naruto. Sasuke flung a kunai at the clone but it went into him and came right back out aimed directly for himself. He stared in shock.

"Sasuke!" Kabuto yelled as he pushed him out of the way just in time but the kunai scratched Kabuto's arm.

"What?" Sora said as she saw his cut. "That means that they're real clones then?"

"No," Sasuke said standing up. "It's just an illusion."

"But-"

"I'll see where the real one's hiding!" Sasuke steadied himself. "Sharingan!" His eyes turned red but then the mark on his neck began to burn as the seal spread across his shoulder. "AH!" He fell to his knees in pain. _Why's this happening?_ he thought as he clutched his shoulder.

"Sasuke!" Sora shouted and ran over to where he was kneeling. She knew that she could probably stop the spreading and his pain by touching it. It seemed to work before but she was afraid of the terrible pain. _I'm such a coward…_ she thought as she tried to calm him down. "Sasuke, just breathe. Don't use your Sharingan!"

"Dammit…" Sasuke gasped. _No, I just saw it. Barely but…_

"Fine!" Naruto yelled. "I'll just have to take out all of the clones!"

"Don't! You'll waste your Chakra!" Kabuto warned.

"KAGE BUUSHIN NO JUTSU!" 20 Naruto clones appeared in a puff of smoke. "Now let's fight." He attacked the Rain Genin clones slicing through them easily but they kept reforming. Then he began attacking faster so that they could only reform themselves and not attack him or the others.

"Come on!" Kabuto shouted. "He can't do this alone!" The other two nodded and the three joined the fight. They fought for what seemed like hours and finally they were all out of breath.

Then the Rain Genins decided to make their move. "They're all exhausted," one said.

"Let's go," said another. They appeared out of the bushes. "You're all out of Chakra," he mocked as they appeared. "Now we'll take you out!" But then the group appeared behind them. "What?"

"Hah!" Naruto said. "When I used my shadow replications, I made replicas of those three as well to make it look like we were all fighting but they hid as I fought your stupid clones!"

The three narrowed their eyes at Naruto. "He's out of Chakra," one said. "Attack!" The three jumped at him but Naruto expected such an attack and used up some of his remaining Chakra and delivered a powerful kick casting all three Rain Genins to the side.

"No way!"

"Now," Naruto said approaching them, "let's finish this!"

But Sasuke felt something was wrong. "Wait!" he yelled. "Sharingan!" His eyes turned red again.

"Sasuke!" Sora gasped.

"AH!" he screamed as pain filled his body again. _No, just a second longer… _He looked up and saw that the three Rain Genins were just clones as well. The real ones were hiding in the earth. "Naruto," he gasped out clutching his shoulder. "The real ones…in the ground!" He collapsed.

"What?" Naruto said turning.

"Look out!" Kabuto said as a Rain Genin attacked. He rushed up to Naruto and stopped the attack. "Get the real ones!" he shouted to Naruto.

Naruto nodded. _In the ground? Where?_

Sora finally noticed where they were hiding. _Dammit, it'd be so much easier if I had my stupid Chakra, _she thought angrily. She left Sasuke to help Naruto. "HERE!" she shouted as she threw three shuriken knives into the ground. The three real enemies were forced to surface.

"You'll pay for that," one said as he removed a star knife from his shoulder.

Sora said nothing but narrowed her eyes and got ready for an attack.

"NO! YOU'RE MINE!" Naruto shouted as he ran in front of Sora.

_He should be exhausted,_ Sora thought as he rushed past her. "Naruto!"

"AHHHH!" Naruto yelled powering up. Then he made two more clones. "KAGE BUUSHIN NO JUTSU!"

"Impossible…"

"He was out!"

Then the three Narutos delivered a simultaneous punch into each of the three Rain Genins' faces sending them flying back unconscious.

Kabuto, who had been fighting the clones stumbled back as the clones disappeared in a poof of smoke. "Whew," he said wiping his forehead. "Well, that was close."

Sasuke looked at Kabuto from his kneeling position. He was still clutching his shoulder but he had a suspicion. _There's more to this guy than he shows…I'm certain._

Sora walked over to Kabuto and helped him up. "Are you ok?" she asked.

Kabuto smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine," he said as he dusted himself off.

Sora pulled out a bandage and wrapped a pretty nasty cut on his arm he had gotten during the fight. "That should stop the bleeding," she said looking into his eyes.

"Yeah, uh, thanks," Kabuto stuttered as he lost himself in her eyes. _God, she's beautiful._

Sasuke glared at the two and tried to stand but the pain kept him from moving too much. _What the hell's wrong with me?_ he shouted at himself.

Naruto tied up the three unconscious attackers and found that they had no scroll. "Oh, well," he said coming back to the group. "We didn't need them anyway, right?"

Sora smiled. "Yeah, but we'd better get going before we run out of time." She walked over to Sasuke and helped him up by putting his arm around her shoulders for support. "You ok?'

"Yeah," Sasuke said shortly not looking at her.

Sora felt guilty for not helping him when she knew she could have. _I'm so weak now,_ she thought miserably.

The group walked forward and found their way to the central building just in time. It was 2:45 and the cut-off was 3.

"All right!" Naruto yelled as he jumped up in the air after entering the building. "We made it!" Sora gave a sigh of relief and Sasuke just grunted.

"Ok then," Kabuto said. "I've got to get to my teammates but good luck on the last part of the exam." He began to walk away.

"Hey, Kabuto-san!" Naruto called. "Thanks for helping us!"

Kabuto waved without turning and left the room.

Sora turned her attention to an open scroll that hung on the wall. "Hey, look at this," she said walking up to it. "'If you do not possess Heaven, gain knowledge and be prepared. If you do not possess Earth, run through the fields and seek strength. If you open both Heaven and Earth scrolls, dangerous paths turn into safe paths. This is the secret of something… it should lead you on your way,'" she read. "It must be referring to the scrolls we had to collect. But there's a word missing…"

"Hm," Naruto said. "Maybe by opening the scrolls we can find out."

Sora took out the Earth scroll she was carrying as Sasuke took out the Heaven scroll.

"Ready?" Naruto asked as he looked at the two, his excitement level rising.

Sora and Sasuke nodded and opened them at the same time. A blinding light filled the room forcing the three to shield their eyes until the light subsided. Then they saw Kakashi-sensei standing there in all his slouching glory with his hands in his pockets. "Hello, students!" he said lazily waving his hand in the air.

Sora's and Naruto's mouths dropped. Sasuke crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

"Well," Kakashi said indignantly, "I would've expected maybe some joy in you guys for seeing your sensei after 5 days." He pretended to be hurt.

Sora closed her mouth. "Sensei!" she said stepping forward. "Uh, sorry, we were just, uh, shocked to see you come out of a scroll…" She felt stupid as she said it and turned red.

Kakashi smiled. _She's as beautiful as ever,_ he thought as he put a hand on her shoulder. "Well, congratulations," he said. "You guys have passed the second part of the exam."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Of course we did!" he said smiling broadly. "You of all people should know that we were gonna pass no matter what!"

"When did all the others get here?" Sora asked aware that Kakashi had not taken his hand away from her shoulder yet.

"Hm? Well, I heard that there was one team, from the Sand village with Gaara in it that made it to the tower in 5 hours and 46 minutes. That's beating the last record by more than a day," Kakashi said thoughtfully.

"WHAT?" Naruto nearly screamed.

_WHAT?_ Sasuke thought as his eyes shot open.

"And he wasn't hurt a bit. Not even dirty."

Both boys' mouths dropped open. "Wow," Sora said somewhat calmly. "That's pretty amazing."

"It is," Kakashi said looking at her. "He could be a potential threat if any of you were to fight him."

Sora saw the seriousness in her sensei's eyes and shuddered slightly. "Uh, but what about these scrolls?" she asked changing the subject. "And why is there a word missing up there?" She pointed to the blank.

"Ah, yes," Kakashi said taking his hand off of Sora's shoulder and walked to the wall where the open scroll hung. "This missing word is 'man.' The 'secret of man,' see?"

Naruto looked confused because he was. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, I get it," Sora said. "In order to become a real shinobi, we must possess the strength of the Earth and the wisdom of the Heavens. If one has these attributes, he will have figured out the secret of man, of life in a way, and all paths will become clearer."

"Very good, Sora," Kakashi said smiling. "That's my student!"

Naruto hung his head. _Why am I so dumb?_

Sasuke had stayed silent the entire time. He wasn't even listening to what was going on around him. _Gaara,_ he thought. _I can't believe he made it here in 5 hours and without a scratch! That's impossible…_

"Hey, Sasuke," Kakashi said waking him up. "Are you listening?" Sasuke glared at Kakashi. "I guess you are now." He smiled. Sasuke frowned. "Ok, I have one more thing to tell you guys before I lead you to the main room of this building. You are all very close to becoming Chuunins. This level is much higher than a Genin and it expects that much more responsibility and respect. If you become Chuunins, you are capable of commanding a small team to go on missions. Leadership, teamwork, and strategy are essential to this position. Are you up to the challenge?"

"You bet we are!" Naruto said confidently. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

Sora smiled nervously. _Well, we made it this far,_ she thought. _But what about that mark on Sasuke's neck? And what did that man do to Naruto? _

As Naruto went on and on about how great he was in the forest, Kakashi looked over at the quiet Sora and noticed for the first time that her chest area was wrapped with bandages and that she had many cuts and bruises that haven't healed. She also looked like she had lost a lot of blood. _This is bad, _he thought. _We're going to have preliminary matches today to get the number down to 10. What happened to her? _

"Hey, hey, Sensei!" Naruto said interrupting his thoughts. "We should get going right?"

Kakashi put his hands in his pockets. "Uh, right. This way." The team walked down a corridor and into a huge room with balconies on either side overlooking an arena. The other Genins were already lined up in rows in front of a stage with a huge statue on it. The Hokage, Anko, and another Jounin were on the stage. The rest of the Genins' Jounin leaders were all standing around the group.

"Ah, good of you to come," the Hokage said as they walked up to the group. "Please get in line as Gekkou Hayate, your third and final examiner, explains the rules." The three filed into the rows. As they looked around, they saw Kabuto and his two teammates, Neji, Tenten, and Lee, Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari, the three sound ninjas, and all of the Konoha rookies.

_Hey, we all made it,_ Naruto thought as he started paying attention to what the examiner was saying.

"Ok," cough, cough, "Here are the rules. First there are way too many of you so we're going to have preliminary matches for the first time in five years. This will reduce the number to about 10 of you."

_Preliminary matches?_ Sasuke thought in alarm. _This stupid curse…I won't be able to use my Sharingan. And Sora shouldn't fight. She's too injured._

_Holy crap,_ Naruto thought as he looked around nervously. _Who's gonna be my opponent? Will it be that jerk, Kankuro? What if it's Gaara or Lee?_

Sora tensed up. _Sasuke! He can't fight with that mark! _She glanced over at Sasuke who was standing beside her.

"If anyone wants to quit now, please raise your hand," Hayate said.

Kabuto raised his hand. "I quit," he said.

"What?" Naruto said. "You made it this far and you're quitting?"

Kabuto looked at Naruto with a tired smile. "I had no idea there were gonna be preliminary matches. I'm in no condition to fight and I'll only lose so I'll just try again next time." Yoroi, his teammate stopped him.

"What're you doing?" he asked in a low voice. "Are you forgetting our mission?"

"No, I leave it up to you and Misumi," Kabuto said quietly. Then he left.

_Hm,_ the Hokage thought as he watched Kabuto leave. _I remember him quitting here last time as well._ "Anko," he said softly.

"Yes, Hokage-sama?"

"What do you know about him?"

"Oh, Kabuto?" Anko asked. "Let me check." She got out her files and found his information. "It says here that he's failed 7 times in a row and this is his 8th. He didn't stand out particularly in the academy and graduated on his third try. He's done 2 C-rank missions and 34 D-ranked missions. And…uh…oh, here it says that he was brought from the Kikyo Pass battle and a Jounin from the medic squad took custody of him, an enemy's boy left on the battlefield."

"Hm," the Hokage said as he puffed his pipe. _Interesting…_

"Ok then, you may leave," Hayate said. "Does anyone else wish to quit?"

_I should tell them about Sasuke's condition, _Sora thought nervously. She moved to raise her hand.

Sasuke saw her movement and grabbed her arm before she could raise it. "No," he said roughly. "Don't tell anyone about this mark."

Sora looked at him. "Sasuke, if you're not afraid for yourself, I'm afraid. You can't fight in your condition! You'll get hurt."

"It doesn't matter," he said. "I'm not going to give up just because some guy bit me."

"But-"

"Sora." He looked her straight in the eye. "Please."

Sora sighed and looked down. "Ok, but…it's just I don't want to see you like I did in the forest." She shuddered at the memory. "I was scared."

Sasuke wanted to hold her in his arms right then but he dared not move and attract attention. "Sora," he said letting her arm go but grabbing her hand. "I can keep it under control. Trust me."

Sora looked at him worriedly but nodded nonetheless. The two returned their attentions to Hayate.

"Hokage-sama," Anko whispered. "We shouldn't allow the Uchiha to fight. Isolate him with an ANBU squad for protection from Orochimaru."

"Oh, I don't think he's going to quit that easily," the Hokage said as he noticed that he was conversing with Sora. "Let him stay."

"But, Hokage-sama!"

"I'll have extra ANBU squads to guard the matches. Don't worry," he said.

Anko wasn't convinced but she knew that the Hokage's decision was final.

"Ok then," cough, cough, "If that's everyone who wants to quit, the rules. There's only one rule and that is my word. You will fight each other until one of you dies, is knocked out, or if I stop you."

Naruto gulped. _Dies?_

"Other than that, you are allowed to use any weapon or technique in the fights." He looked around to see if anyone had questions. "All right then, we'll begin."

"Ah yes, but before we do that," the Hokage interjected. "You must all recognize the real reason for the Chuunin exam." The Genins stood at attention as the Hokage stepped up to the front of the stage. "The Chuunin exam is completed with participations from allied nations to maintain good relations and to heighten the level of the ninja art. This exam is the only allusion of a war between the allied nations. In history, we have fought each other over and over again so to avoid wasting military power, we have decided to choose a place to fight. That was the beginning of the Chuunin Selection exam. Although this exam chooses who is of Chuunin level, it is also a place where ninjas fight and carry their country's dignity. Feudal lords and famous people from various countries who may be potential clients are invited as guests to watch the battles. The stronger countries will be flooded with jobs but if a country is seen as weak, their jobs will decrease. Each country is able to show how their village has grown by sending in their best."

"Then why do we fight by risking our lives?" Kiba asked.

"A country's power is the village's power," the Hokage explained. "A village's power is the ninja's power and a ninja's true power is only born through life and death battles. This exam is a place to show off the ninja power of one's country and because contestants fight with their lives, the exam has meaning. That is the reason our predecessors have fought and dreamed of being in the Chuunin Exam. The custom of saving one's life and fighting to maintain balance is the good relation in the world of ninjas. This is a life or death battle for your dream and your village's dignity."

The students all nodded their heads at the seriousness of the subject. The Hokage puffed at his pipe and nodded.

"All right," Hayate said. Cough, cough, "the machine up there will randomly select who will go first." Everyone held their breath as the screen blinked to life. Then two names appeared. "Akadou Yoroi vs. Uchiha Sasuke."

_What?_ Sora thought. _The first match?_ She looked at Sasuke nervously.

Sasuke just smiled confidently. "Don't worry, I'll be fine," he said gripping her hand tighter.

Yoroi, the teammate who stopped Kabuto, took a deep breath. _I will fulfill my duty to Orochimaru-sensei,_ he thought as he stepped forward.

"Everyone else, please clear the arena and head up to the balconies. The group separated into their teams and climbed the stairs to the balconies.

As Kakashi passed by Sasuke, he placed a hand on his shoulder. "Sasuke, I know about your curse," he said quietly. Sasuke tensed. "Don't use your Sharingan or any high powered Chakra attacks. This curse reacts to your Chakra level and if it gets too high, you might die. I will stop the match if it comes to that." Before Sasuke could respond, Kakashi left him and joined Sora and Naruto on the balcony.

"Sensei," Sora said unable to keep the mark a secret anymore. _I'm sorry, Sasuke… _"Sasuke, he's-"

"It's ok, Sora. I know," Kakashi said. "Don't worry."

Sora gripped the rail nervously. "I can't help it."

Kakashi patted her head. "I'll stop the match if it gets dangerous."

"All right," cough, cough, "Begin!"

Yoroi immediately ran towards Sasuke and threw a punch at his face. Sasuke dodged and tried to kick his legs to get him off balance but Yoroi dodged and placed a hand on Sasuke's head. "Energy Drainer," he said as his hand began to glow.

_What?_ Sasuke thought as he felt his body and mind energy reduce.

"You can't win," Yoroi said as he absorbed his energy. "Once I have all of your energy, you'll be helpless."

Sasuke forced his arm to knock off Yoroi's hand. "Shut up," he spat as he jumped backwards. "Sharin-AHH!" He clutched his shoulder in pain. _Dammit! Stupid curse,_ he thought as he tried to breathe.

"Too late," Yoroi said as he smacked his hand on Sasuke's forehead again draining his energy.

Sasuke shook his head to get Yoroi's hand off and managed to kick Yoroi away. _I'm already exhausted, _he thought as he panted heavily. _If things keep going like this, I'll lose._

"Sasuke! Don't lose to a wimp like him!" Naruto yelled from the balcony. "Remember I'm the one who's gonna beat you!"

"Shut up," Sasuke muttered under his breath knowing Naruto couldn't hear him. Yoroi rushed at him again delivering kicks and punches. Sasuke dodged and blocked them wearily as he tried to figure out a plan. _He wants close combat,_ he thought dodging another punch but barely. Then he saw Lee out of the corner of his eye. _Wait, I've got it! _He gathered his remaining energy and disappeared so that he was behind Yoroi. "Konoha Senpu!" he yelled as he kicked Yoroi high into the air just like Lee did to him before.

"Hey, that's my attack!" Lee said as he grabbed the rail.

Gai-sensei was also intrigued. "Ah, very impressive Kakashi," he commented. "It looks like your student has copied my Lee's attacks just by using his Sharingan. Usually Taijutsu like that must be learned by years and years of training."

"Hm? I'm so sorry. Did you say something?" Kakashi asked.

_OH! YOU ARE TOO HIP, KAKASHI!_ Gai thought overdramatically as he grabbed his hair.

Sasuke then jumped up right underneath the flying Yoroi. "Shadow Dance."

_What?_ Yoroi thought and tried to move but couldn't.

Then the curse became active on Sasuke's shoulder. He winced in pain. _Not now! NO! _He couldn't use the attack. "DAMMIT!" he yelled as he punched Yoroi in the back instead. Yoroi went even higher in the air. Then Sasuke did a series of Taijutsu attacks he had seen Lee do earlier. "Lion Combo!" he shouted as he slammed his leg down into Yoroi's stomach. They both crashed into the ground. As the dust settled, Sasuke struggled to his feet clutching his shoulder. Yoroi didn't move.

Cough, cough. "Well, it looks like Uchiha Sasuke can move on to the Chuunin matches," Hayate announced as he signaled for two Medic Nins to get Yoroi off the arena floor. Sasuke dropped to his knees completely exhausted.

Kakashi jumped down to Sasuke. "Let's go," he said as he picked him up. They disappeared.

Sora rubbed her temples as she sighed in relief. _He's ok,_ she thought. _Kakashi-sensei's got him._

"WOOHOO!" Naruto shouted as he hugged Sora from behind surprising her.

"Naruto!" Sora exclaimed as he swung her around.

"Hah! Now we have to pass!" he said turning her around in his arms.

Sora smiled and nodded her head.

Lee saw the two and walked over. "That Uchiha is really something," he said.

Sora turned to look at him. "Yeah," she said softly. She remembered that she never thanked him for saving her in the forest. "But uh, he used your attacks right?"

"Oh, yeah. He did!" Lee said putting a hand behind his head and laughed.

"He kicked ass!" Naruto said as he let go of Sora to do a thumbs-up sign.

Sora shook her head at Naruto. "Uh, Lee, I never got a chance to thank you for saving me in the forest," she said quietly looking down.

"Uh?" Lee said turning red. "Aw, it wasn't anything. I said I would protect you to my best ability. I'm the one who should be sorry it wasn't enough."

"No!" Sora said looking up. "I mean, you shouldn't think like that. Nobody's ever protected me like you did back there." She gave him a quick hug. "Thank you."

Lee turned a darker shade of red. "Uh?" _Oh! SHE LIKES ME! _he thought as dramatically as his sensei.

Then the screen began to blink again. "Amubi Zaku vs. Aburame Shino." The two descended the stairs to the arena. Sora shuddered when she saw his arms in slings.

Hayate looked at the two. "All right, begin!"

"Give up now if you ever want to use your arms again," Shino said quietly.

_WHOA! That's the first time I've ever heard him speak!_ Sora thought amazed.

"Save it," Zaku growled. "I can use my arms fine! Air Cutter!" He raised his right arm straight out in front of him aiming his attack at Shino.

Shino dodged. "You will never be able to fight again," he warned as he landed behind him.

"Shut up, you freak!" Zaku swung around to face Shino. "Air Cutter!" he said again. It hit Shino straight on. "Hah! Too overconfident."

The crowd gasped as Shino tumbled to the ground. _What? He could've easily dodged that attack!_ Sora thought. But then Shino's body began to dissolve. "Huh?"

"Whoa, are those bugs?" Naruto asked staring bug-eyed at Shino's body. Sure enough, his body was slowly dissembling into individual bugs. Soon there was a swarm of bugs where Shino once stood.

"What the hell?" Zaku said as he began to sweat.

"I'll give you one more chance," Shino's voice came from behind him.

Zaku turned his head and saw that he was trapped from both sides. "You…" Sweat trailed down his face as he slowly put up his arm towards Shino.

"Give up now or I'll attack you, either by myself or with my Kakai bugs."

Then Zaku forced his other arm that was supposedly broken towards the mass of insects. He winced in pain but kept it up. "Not a chance!" he snarled. "Maximum Air Cutter!" he shouted as he forced his Chakra to its peak.

Shino didn't move. "Too late," he said.

"What?" No air came out of his hands like he expected. Instead, he felt the air build up in his arms. The pressure was tremendous. "AHHH!" he screamed in pain as the air finally broke through his arms tearing through his flesh. "What is this?" He fell to the ground writhing in pain and blood.

Shino calmly walked up to him. "Some of my bugs crawled into the holes in your hands and blocked up the air passage so that you wouldn't be able to use your attack. Because of the build up of pressure, the air had to find another way out, through your arms."

"No…" Zaku choked out. Then he lost all consciousness from the pain.

Hayate looked from Shino to Zaku. "I declare Aburame Shino the winner," he said. He nodded for the Medic Nins to take Zaku away to the hospital.

Naruto was blue in the face and shaking. "Ew, that guy's creepier than I thought," he said hugging himself.

_Zaku won't be able to use his arms ever again,_ Sora thought as she shivered as well. She watched Shino as he calmly climbed the stairs and took his place with his team. She saw Hinata congratulate him on his win and saw him just nod in response. Kiba also gave him a thumbs-up sign. _He's creepy but interesting…_

Blink blink blink blink blink…"Tsurugi Misumi vs. Kankuro."

Kankuro smirked. "I guess I have to go first out of the three of us," he said to his teammates. Gaara didn't make any motions but Temari rolled her eyes.

"Don't screw up, ok?" she told him.

"Hey. Me? Screw up?" he smiled as he walked down the stairs.

Temari sighed. _He's probably going to show off in front of that girl, _she thought as she quickly stole a glance at Sora who looked like she was deep in thought. Temari snorted. _She's not so special anyway…_ She had noticed how all of the guys seemed to be interested in her, including that really cute Sasuke. _No, you're not jealous at all, _she said to herself sarcastically.

Then Kakashi appeared next to Naruto and Sora. "ACK!" Naruto yelped in surprise.

Sora turned quickly to see what was going on and she saw Kakashi. "Sensei! Is Sasuke-"

"He's fine," Kakashi said. "He has an ANBU squad in his hospital room so he's quite safe."

"A whole squad?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi nodded. "I'm guessing neither of you have fought yet."

Naruto nodded. "But no matter who it is, I'll crush them!"

Sora gave a sigh of relief and turned back to watch the fight.

_Sora,_ Kakashi thought as he gently put a hand on her shoulder. "Relax," he said softly.

"I know," Sora barely whispered. _I'm in absolutely no condition to go against anyone like Neji or Gaara, _she thought. _What if I get paired with one of them?_

_She needs professional medical help soon,_ Kakashi thought as he looked at her wounds. _I can tell Sasuke's tried to heal her with his Chakra but it won't last much longer._

The two fighters below faced off. "Begin!"

"I'm not going to go easy on you just because you're a kid like Yoroi did," Misumi said.

Kankuro didn't say anything but just took the thing he always carried around on his back off and placed it on the ground.

Misumi rushed at Kankuro and in a blink of an eye, he had elongated his body around Kankuro holding him in place. "I'll break your neck if you chose not to surrender," he warned as he tightened his grip on Kankuro's head. When he found that Kankuro was still not responding, he swiftly cracked Kankuro's neck.

Sora gasped as she saw his body go limp. But to hers and everyone's surprise, it wasn't Kankuro.

"What?" Misumi said as he saw the covering slip off. "What is this?"

Then the thing that Kankuro had dropped when Misumi had wrapped himself around him unraveled revealing the real Kankuro. "Gotcha," he said confidently. Chakra strings were attached from his fingers to the thing Misumi was holding.

"It's a marionette!" Lee said in amazement. "He's a puppeteer."

Sora looked closely and even though she couldn't see the Chakra strings, she saw that Lee was right.

"So that's what that thingy is," Naruto said sounding slightly stupid.

"AHHH!" Misumi screamed as he saw the face of the puppet. It had three eyes and looked scary as hell.

"You're finished," Kankuro said as he made his hand into a fist. The puppet then closed in on Misumi and appeared to bite his neck as its many arms stabbed into Misumi's skin. Misumi fell motionless to the ground. Kankuro pulled back on the Chakra strings and in a flash wrapped up the puppet again and slung him on his back.

"Hm, that was fast," Hayate said to himself. "Winner: Kankuro," he said loudly enough for everyone to hear.

Kankuro smiled smugly up at Sora winking at her then he climbed the stairs back up to his teammates.

Sora looked away. Then she began to feel pain again. _No, not now! _she thought as she desperately tried to hold back a coughing fit. She put her hand against her mouth as blood began to drip out.

"Sora-chan!" Naruto said as he caught her in his arms before she fell.

Kakashi knew that this was coming. _Damn. Why couldn't it come later,_ he thought as he knelt down next to his students taking out a cloth. "Sora, spit it out," he ordered.

Sora spit out her blood into the cloth that Kakashi held. It was a dark color. "Oh, god," she groaned as she clutched her chest.

"Just breathe, Sora," Kakashi said. "Breathe."

Sora tried to take a deep breath in but felt another sharp pain against her chest. _What's wrong?_ she thought angrily.

Naruto looked up at Kakashi. "Wha-what do we do?"

Kakashi looked at the now blinking screen. _It better not be-_

"Yamanaka Ino vs. Kousetsu Sora," Hayate announced.

Sora shut her eyes. _Calm down, _she told herself._ Just forget the pain, like you always have…_ She pushed Naruto's arms away. "I'm fine," she said with blood in her throat. She wiped her mouth.

"No, you're not!" Naruto said trying to get her to stay down. "You can't fight like this!"

Sora sighed. "It's not my choice."

Naruto looked horrified. "Sensei!"

Kakashi looked at Sora. She stared back at him with a determined look in her eyes. "I can do this, Kakashi-sensei," she said.

His heart begged him not to let her go, but his mind told him that she wouldn't listen to him if he tried anyway. "Naruto, let her go," he said quietly.

Naruto's mouth dropped open in shock. "What?"

"She's not going to listen to me anyway."

"But…you…"

"Trust me," Sora said forcing a smile. "It's just Ino." She walked off.

Naruto stared after her for a while then snapped out of it. "KICK HER ASS, SORA!" he yelled.

Sora smiled to herself. _Just remember your training,_ she thought. She faced Ino who looked like she was going to burst from relief and confidence.

"Ready to lose?" Ino jeered as she saw Sora's legs wobble.

Sora steadied herself and looked up to meet Ino's disdaining blue eyes. "Sure," she said smiling knowing that it would irk Ino to no end.

_Ooo, THE NERVE!_ Ino screamed inside. "I'll make sure that no one will recognize that pretty face of yours!" she screamed outside.

Sora just ignored Ino and looked over at Hayate.

"Ready?" he asked her. He was a little worried about her since he saw her coughing fit. Plus he thought she was absolutely gorgeous.

Sora nodded. "It'll be quick," she said smiling. Ino turned red with anger.

Hayate almost lost his straight face at her smile but turned his emotion into a coughing fit. COUGH, COUGH, COUGH! "Uh-hm! Ok, then, begin!"

Ino ran at Sora like an angry bull and whipped out her kunai. "You're going to so get it!" she screamed as she sliced at Sora.

Sora had already figured out a plan for Ino's move. She slightly sidestepped her attack and grabbed Ino's wrist making Ino lose balance.

_What? When did she get so fast?_ Ino thought as she felt Sora begin to swing her around.

Sora flung Ino across the arena like a Frisbee but had to fall to one knee to keep herself from coughing. She clutched her chest. _Dammit…_

Ino flipped in the air and skidded to a halt. "Oh, so you can fight?" Ino mocked as she grabbed three shuriken knives out of her pouch. "Take this!" She threw the three knives through the air at Sora.

_Move you idiot!_ Sora screamed at herself and ducked just in time to dodge two and caught the third with her teeth because she was still clutching her chest with her arms.

_What?_ Ino thought as she saw her knife stopped by Sora's teeth. _Impossible! _She had been the best girl ninja in the academy days and everyone, even the boys, thought she had a nasty throw.

Sora got up and took the shuriken out of her mouth. "Nice throw," she mocked as she gathered her energy in her hand. "HAH!" she yelled as she ran at full speed to give momentum and threw the shuriken back at Ino.

Lee sensed that she was using body energy like he did. "AMAZING!" he said clutching his fist to his chest. "She's using that same tactics as I do!" The shuriken flew so fast in the air that it seemed to catch on fire. Lee's eyes did the same. "OOHOOHOO! That's what I expect from my future girlfriend!" he shouted.

Naruto glared at him. "She's not your type, fuzzy eyebrows!" he shouted at him.

Lee ignored him and concentrated on the fight.

Ino wasn't out yet though. She dodged the shuriken barely, but that was what Sora wanted her to do. The star blade rammed into the wall making it shake as well as send some concrete flying off into the arena. "Huh?" Ino said as she realized that she was going to be hit with a shower of concrete. "AHH!"

Sora didn't wait for her to make a move. She knew that a small concrete shower wasn't going to stop Ino even though the pieces of concrete were flying back at like a million miles an hour.

Ino covered her face with her arms as the concrete rocks pelted her. She flew backwards from the impact.

Sora caught her in a death grip locking her head and she pointed a kunai blade at her throat. "I would suggest that you give up now," Sora said really not wanting to kill her.

Ino clenched her teeth as she stopped trying to get away. _No, I'm going to lose if I don't think of something quick!_ she thought.

Sora waited for Ino's response ready for anything but then the pain came back again. _No, fight it! Fight it! _She tried to hold it in but this was no normal injury. It was too much. She let Ino go and began to cough uncontrollably. _Dammit, dammit!_

Ino realized that she had the upper hand now. "HAH!" she said as she turned around and kicked Sora hard in the stomach.

"Sora!" Naruto and Lee screamed at the same time.

Kakashi staggered out a breath. _No, Sora…this is all my fault…I should have never…DAMMIT!_

Sora had the wind and some blood knocked out of her as she flew across the arena. _Holy crap, that hurt,_ Sora thought as she hacked up more and more blood. She spat it out determinedly. _But I'm not going to lose…_

Ino saw her chance. "Mind Transfer!" She aimed her Chakra at Sora and it hit. Her body went limp as she transferred her mind to Sora's body.

Sora's body shuddered as Ino's mind entered. Then the room was silent. Sora's body stirred then stood up. "Hah, it worked!" Ino said through Sora's voice. She looked at Sora's hands covered in blood. _That's strange,_ Ino thought as she examined the blood. _It's really dark…that must mean it had to come from some internal injury given to her a while ago. _Suddenly she felt guilty for being so cruel. _Ok, then I'll end this match quickly._ She was going to raise her hand and make Sora say that she gave up but then something stopped her. _What? I can't move her arm!_

"Get out," an evil voice said.

"Huh?"

"I said get out."

"Wha-Sora?" Ino looked everywhere but could only see swirls of darkness.

"I don't appreciate you being in her mind," the voice said.

Ino was scared. "_Her _mind? Come out! Who are you?"

A pair of gleaming eyes appeared in the darkness. "That is none of your concern."

Ino felt claws pierce her flesh as she screamed in horror at the sight of those eyes. She couldn't move, she couldn't think. All she wanted to do was get out and fast. "CANCEL! CANCEL!" she screamed shutting her eyes. Then she felt her mind leave Sora's and it went back to her own body.

Sora fell to her knees unaware of what had happened in her mind. She opened her eyes. "What?" she said in surprise. She saw Ino's limp body.

Then Ino came back to life. Her eyes shot open but she didn't get up. She was shaking with fear. Sora got up and began to walk towards Ino. "DON'T COME NEAR ME!" she screamed and scooted back.

Sora stopped confused. "What?"

"Who-who are you?" Ino stuttered as she shook.

Sora was completely lost. "I don't know what you're talking ab-"

"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" she yelled. "I surrender. I give up, ok?" She got up and ran out of the room leaving everyone in a quiet stupor.

"Uh?" Sora questioned no one.

Hayate looked at Sora strangely. _What did Ino mean?_ he asked himself. "Well, uh, I guess since Ino surrendered, Sora is the winner of this match."

Naruto and Lee immediately jumped for joy and shouted, "YEAH! I KNEW SHE COULD DO IT!" They stopped and looked at each other in disdain. "Hmpf!" They turned their backs towards each other and crossed their arms.

"Hey, good job, Sora-chan!" Hinata called out trying to get Sora's attention.

Sora smiled at Hinata but didn't feel relieved or happy even though many people were congratulating her for her win as she walked up the stairs. She couldn't stop thinking about Ino's look of utter terror after she woke up. _What did she see?_ she pondered. She didn't look where she was going and ran right in to Kakashi's hands. "Uh, sorry," she mumbled.

"Sora, we need to talk," Kakashi said leading her towards a door.

"Hey, where're you guys going?" Naruto asked.

"Just give us a moment, Naruto," Kakashi said and shut the door.

"Uh?" Naruto said confused. "She won didn't she?" he asked.

"Of course she did!" Lee answered.

_Hm,_ Naruto thought as he turned his attention back to the arena.

Kakashi led Sora into a private room and shut the door leaving them completely alone. "What happened?" he asked.

Sora didn't know what to say. "Uh, I don't really know," she stammered.

"Sora," Kakashi said as he sighed. "Did you see Ino's expression? Do you know what pure terror looks like?"

Sora looked up at Kakashi. "Sensei, I didn't-"

"All I'm saying is that there's something strange happening," he said as he paced in front of her. "Something's not right."

"Sensei, look, I-"

Then Kakashi couldn't take it anymore. He suddenly pulled Sora into an embrace and leaned his head down on hers. Sora was too shocked to resist. He stood holding her in his arms for a while. "Sora," he said softly letting her go just enough so he could look into her eyes. "I don't know what's inside of you but I do know that I…" _love_ "I'm scared for you. This thing-it-I just don't know what to make of it. If anything happens to you, I'd…" He trailed off and let her go looking away.

Sora stood silently, hopelessly. _What can I say?_ she thought. _I'm scared too._ Then all of a sudden, she felt another jolt of pain run through her body. She pushed Kakashi back and began coughing up a storm. Blood came running out of the sides of her mouth.

_You stupid,_ Kakashi said to himself as he helped lower her to the ground. _Should've taken her to the hospital by now instead of losing control over your damn emotions._ "Sora, we're going to the hospital. Now."

Sora shook her head. "No," cough, cough, "I have to stay," cough "and watch Naruto's fight." She spat a glob of blood to the side. "Dammit…"

"He'll be fine without us watching," Kakashi said putting more of his Chakra into her weakening body. _She needs professional help._ "You're going to die if you lose much more blood."

Sora finally regained control. She wiped the blood away from her mouth and stood up. "I'm fine," she insisted. "He supported me, I've got to support him!" She got up and began walking towards the door.

Kakashi grabbed her wrist to stop her. "I'm serious," he pleaded. "If you lose any more blood, you're going to faint."

Sora turned her head and smiled. "Well, then let's hope that Naruto's fight ends before I hack up any more blood." She released herself from his grip and walked shakily out of the room.

_Why does she have to be so stubborn?_ he thought angrily. Then he sighed. _I know I shouldn't be the one talking…_

Sora went back out to the arena area. Naruto was still in the balcony and hadn't fought yet. "Sora-chan!" Naruto said when he saw her. He gave her a huge hug. "I thought you'd gone to the hospital with Kakashi-sensei."

Sora laughed. "Yeah, well I can't miss your fight! What kind of teammate would I be if I did?"

Naruto's eyes shined. _She does care!_ He hugged her even tighter. "Thanks, Sora-chan," he said in her ear. "I'm gonna win for sure now!" Sora nodded her head in confidence.

Kakashi entered and saw the fire in Naruto's eyes as he hugged Sora. Sighing, he walked over and put a hand on Sora's shoulder. "Fine, then, but right after, I'm taking you to the emergency room."

Sora looked up at him. "Got it," she said and smiled.

Kakashi sighed. _Why can she get me to do just about anything?_

"Who went while we were gone?" Sora asked Naruto.

Naruto's face fell a little. "It was that Temari from the Sand against Tenten and Tenten lost," he said softly clenching his fist. "That Sand Genin was so cruel…I can't believe she made Tenten land on her fan as she fell. Everyone could see that Tenten was beaten but she still…" He shook with rage.

Sora saw a mess of scrolls and weapons lying everywhere on in the arena, and plenty of blood. "Is Tenten ok?" she asked.

Naruto looked down. "I think they took her straight to the hospital. She probably broke her back."

Sora glanced at Temari who was silently leaning against the wall with a satisfied look on her face. Sora narrowed her eyes. _These Sand Genins,_ she thought as she looked over Gaara and Kankuro. _They're all so powerful. Even I can feel their power without my Chakra._ She then glanced over to Lee and Neji. Lee looked like he was ready to kill Temari while Neji kept his cool, clear eyes down.

Once the arena was cleared, Hayate started the screen. Blink blink blink blink. "Tsuchi Kin vs. Nara Shikamaru," he announced.

_What? A girl? How troublesome… Shikamaru_ thought as he frowned. He put his hands in his pockets and walked slowly down the steps. _Why do I have to fight a girl?_

Sora leaned over the railing. "Hey Shika-kun!" she called.

Shikamaru looked up. "Huh?"

"Go for it!" Sora encouraged. _Hopefully he isn't as lazy as people say he is,_ she thought as she smiled at him.

Shikamaru gave a rare smile to Sora. _Heh, well I can't look like a loser in front of Sora,_ he thought as he turned back to face Kin. _I guess I'll have to actually work to win this one._

"Begin!"

Kin immediately took out two long needles with bells on them and threw them straight for Shikamaru.

He dodged easily. "What was that?" he asked sarcastically. "I'm not that lazy that I wouldn't dodge." _I could've even dodged that with my eyes closed. Why would she have bells on her weapons?_

Kin just smiled evilly. "Looks like someone's cocky," she said as she pulled back her hand.

Shikamaru heard the bells jingle behind him. He turned his head. _She has her Chakra connected to her needles, _he thought. _Hm…_

Kin took the opportunity to throw another spray of needles at Shikamaru, but he dodged again because the bells made them easy to pinpoint but then he caught one without a bell on it right before it hit his face. Kin was surprised.

"I know your strategy," Shikamaru said as he tossed the needle aside. "You were going to distract me with the needles with the bells on them so that you could hit me with a soundless one." He slightly rolled his eyes. "Don't think I don't know what you're trying to pull."

Kin got angry. "You don't know even half my strategy!" she yelled angrily as she pulled back her hand again. The bells jingled. This time there were many more than just two and they had some kind of effect on Shikamaru.

His vision swam as he tried to keep balance. _What…what's happening? Those bells…_ He began to see many Kins appear in front of him. _It must be a dampening effect._

Kin laughed at his daze. "Now, you won't be able to dodge the belled or the silent needles," she said as she took out more needles.

_Oh crap… _The needles came flying seemingly from a million directions. Shikamaru could only cover his face and chest area with his arms. The needles sliced through his skin but didn't hit any vital areas. _I've got to snap out of this…find a way to trap her with my shadow, but- _The bells jingled again behind him making him even more dazed than ever. _Geez, I'm going to lose at this rate, _he thought as his mind began to go dark. _Wait!_

"Now," Kin said as she pulled out her final spray of needles. "You will lose!" She lifted her hand in the air but then she couldn't bring it down. "What?"

Shikamaru stood up shakily and laughed. "Heh, I guess you didn't see that coming," he said as he stretched a bit.

Kin automatically did exactly what he did. _What's happening? _she thought as she leaned to one side then the other.

Shikamaru saw her confusion and smiled. "Well," he said after he was done stretching. "My specialty is shadow attacks. You should've noticed that your Chakra strings had a shadow today when usually they're too thin to project one. But I used your strings to stretch out my shadow so it could trap the real you."

Kin's eyes widened with fear. _What's he going to do? _she thought as she felt her body walk backwards as Shikamaru did.

"Ok, this is what we're going to do," he said as he stopped. She stopped as well. "We're going to throw shuriken knives at each other and see who can stand it the longest." He took out a star blade.

"What?" Kin protested as she pulled one out as well. "If I get hit, you get hit! You can't be serious!"

"Wanna bet?" he said as he let his blade fly. She threw hers as well. They whizzed past each other and headed straight for the others' head.

_He's going to dodge…HE'S GOING TO DODGE!_ Kin screamed in her head as she saw the blade approaching.

Shikamaru stayed still until the last minute and then bent backwards at an amazing speed. The blade flew over his face. Kin also barely dodged the blade but then her head hit the wall and she was knocked unconscious. Shikamaru drew back his shadow as he stood straight again. He put his hands in his pockets and smiled. "While our actions were the same, our distances from the wall weren't," he said as he started to walk off the arena.

"Winner, Shikamaru," Hayate announced as the Medic Nins took Kin off the arena. _That was definitely a strange battle,_ he thought. He looked up to the blinking screen to announce who was next.

"Hey," Sora called to him as he walked up to their group. "Nice job." She gave him a quick and surprising hug.

Shikamaru blushed. "Uh, yeah, thanks," he stammered and felt his heart rate go up a million beats faster.

Sora smiled and let him go. "Then I'll be seeing you in the final rounds," she said punching him playfully on the shoulder.

_God, I hope I don't fight her,_ he thought as he smiled back. "Sure thing," he said and went to his team.

Naruto was dumbfounded. _Shikamaru…blushed!_ he thought. _The world's been going crazy ever since Sora arrived. _Then he felt jealous. _Hey, wait a minute. That means that he probably has a crush on Sora! GRRRR…_ He glared at Shikamaru who was being congratulated by his team. _I have to win my match!_

Sora felt her legs go weak suddenly. _Why does this stupid…grr…_ She grabbed the rail to steady herself. _Can't fall now,_ she told herself. _Kakashi's going to make me miss Naruto's match._

"Sora," Kakashi said walking up to her. "I know you're going to refuse, but I strongly suggest we leave."

Sora shook her head unable to speak.

Kakashi put his hand over her heart area and poured more of his Chakra into her body. "I can't keep you like this much longer. If Naruto's match isn't the next one, I'm going to have to force you to go."

"Then the next one better be Naruto's," she muttered as Kakashi's Chakra allowed her to speak.

Naruto overheard their conversation. _Please, let me go next! _he silently begged.Blink blink blink blink blink blink. "Inuzuka Kiba vs. Uzumaki Naruto."

"YES!" Naruto shouted as he jumped over the rail down to the arena. _This must be my lucky day! _He smiled with glee.

Sora sighed in relief and shot a triumphant look at Kakashi. Kakashi rolled his eyes and tried support her as best he could. He put an inconspicuous (he hoped) arm around Sora's waist to help her balance.

Kiba also looked happy as he walked down the stairs. _How lucky can I get? I'm against Naruto. No way can I lose this! _He shot a smile at Sora who smiled back.

_Just my luck,_ Sora thought as she smiled at Kiba. _If I try to encourage Naruto, then I'll be going against Kiba-kun. If I cheer for Kiba… I'll just silently cheer them both on._ She sighed. _May the best man win._ She laughed to herself but felt the pressure in her chest build up. She stopped quickly and automatically grasped onto Kakashi for support. "God…"

"It's ok," Kakashi said as he strengthened his hold on her. "Hopefully this will be a quick one." _Even though it's probably not going to be…_

"Begin."

"All right!" Naruto shouted. "I'm going to win this nice and easy."

"Heh, don't count on it," Kiba scoffed as he let Akamaru out of his coat. Akamaru barked in agreement with his master. "Beast Cry Jutsu!" he yelled as he got on all fours.

"What?" Naruto asked dumbly. _Never heard of it._

The technique gave Kiba super speed and raised his physical strength. He rushed at Naruto and easily swiped him back with a single blow.

Naruto flew backwards and skidded on his side to a halt. "Ow…" he said as he sat up. _He was too fast,_ he thought as he tried to stand.

"All too easy," Kiba said to Akamaru as he threw a smoke bomb at Naruto.

"Ah?" Naruto said as he started coughing out smoke.

"Go, Akamaru!" The dog barked as he jumped into the smoke. Then a brawl began with Naruto getting beaten.

"AHH! AHH!" Naruto yelled as the little dog seemed to jump out of nowhere and attack. _Come on, think!_ he shouted to himself.

Kiba stood outside of the smoke with a confident smile on his lips. _Naruto should be worn out by now, _he thought as the smoke began to clear. He saw the form of Naruto lying on the ground with a happily barking Akamaru standing next to him. "Good boy!" he said motioning for Akamaru to come back. Akamaru jumped back but then Kiba sensed something. _Wait a minute,_ he thought. _This doesn't smell right. NARUTO!_ He barely dodged an attack from the disguised Naruto.

In a puff of smoke, the Naruto on the ground disappeared revealing a very angry Akamaru and the fake Akamaru disappeared revealing Naruto who was speedily making his way to Kiba's other side. "Gotcha!" he yelled as he took a swing at Kiba.

Kiba dodged and attempted to fight back but caught nothing but air. _Dammit, where'd he go?_ He looked around then heard a yelp from Akamaru. "Akamaru!" he said turning to face his dog.

Naruto had Akamaru trapped in his arms. "Hah, you thought I was going for you, huh?" he mocked Kiba.

Kiba clenched his teeth then whipped out a small package. He quickly took out two pills and put it away. "Catch!" he called to his dog as he threw one to him. He popped the other in his mouth. Akamaru caught the pill and ate it obediently.

Naruto was thoroughly confused. "What was that?" he asked. The dog in his arms didn't look any different.

"Hah," Kiba said swallowing. "It's a soldier pill that doubles our Chakra allowing us to fight for 3 days and nights straight without rest."

_What?_ Naruto thought as he felt Akamaru getting bigger. He looked at the dog and saw that his original white fur was turning red. _Uh oh…_

"Half-Beast Clone!" Kiba said completing the necessary seals. Naruto had to drop Akamaru because he was getting too strong and big to handle. Then Akamaru transformed into Kiba's clone.

"They look the same," Naruto said out loud to himself. Sweat began pouring down his face.

_Naruto concentrate!_ Sora screamed in her mind as she saw him sweat. _Don't lose your focus! _

"Double Fang Destroyer!" both Kibas said as they ran at Naruto. Their speed was incredible. Then they turned into spinning torpedoes and attacked Naruto from both sides.

Naruto only had time enough to cover himself with his arms. The hits sent him crashing to the ground in a temporary paralysis. _Dammit…_ He tried to get up but then another attack sent him into the stone wall. Bits of concrete flew out from the impact. Then another smoke bomb exploded in front of him. He staggered up wiping the blood that had come out from his mouth. _This is bad,_ he thought as he tried to sense where the Kiba clones would come from, but torpedoes attacked from seemingly everywhere and all at once. Naruto could only try and protect his sensitive areas from the lightening fast attacks. _I've got to find a way…_

The smoke cleared as the crowd held its breath to see who was still standing. Three images could be made out in the haze but then all three appeared to be Kiba. "What?" Kiba said as he saw two other clones of himself. Then he remembered. "Hah, you can't fool me, Naruto!" He punched one of his clones in the face sending him flying backwards. "My sense of smell has been amplified by thousands of times through the Beast Cry technique. I can smell your difference!" But then the clone he had punched transformed into a badly shaken Akamaru. "What? You!" He turned quickly and punched his other clone even harder. "You tricked me!"

As Kiba's back was turned, Naruto transformed from his dog shape back into his original form. "HAH! Surprise!" He punched Kiba from behind.

Kiba flew through the air and landed next to a knocked out Akamaru. Kiba quickly stood back up. "Why you-YOU MADE ME ATTACK AKAMARU!" he yelled as he ran towards Naruto like a bull. "Beast Cry Jutsu!" he yelled increasing his speed and strength even more.

Naruto panicked. _Do something-DO SOMETHING!_ He looked around for any ideas. He saw Sora looking at him with pleading eyes. Then it hit him. _Concentrate! _He put his hands together in a focusing seal. "GRR…"

Kiba came up behind Naruto ready to give him a final blow but then he stopped dead in his tracks. "AAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!" he screamed as he fell back holding his nose.

Naruto then realized what he had done. He had farted unintentionally right into Kiba's face. "Uh?"

Everyone watching sweat-dropped. "Did Naruto just fart?" Lee asked with a twitching eyebrow.

Kakashi laughed shakily. "I guess he did," he said. "And with good timing too."

Kurenai was the only one looking really concerned as fits of laughter came from the others watching. "His sense of smell has been amplified twice by his Beast Cry Jutsu. That means that he smells things 5000 times stronger than what we normally smell."

Hinata blinked in shock. _That must be really disgusting,_ she thought as she blushed in embarrassment for Naruto.

Naruto then turned to face a shaking Kiba still holding his nose. "Hah! All part of the plan!" he claimed as he formed his special seal. "Kage Buushin No Jutsu!" 5 Narutos appeared in front of Kiba. Then, not to be outdone by Sasuke, he kicked Kiba up into the air with one clone while another kicked him down from above with an ax kick. "Lion combo!" he shouted with glee. He imitated the moves that he had seen Sasuke do with his clones since he couldn't do them with just one but he made sure it looked fancy. Kiba landed hard on the ground knocked out cold.

_Kiba-kun!_ Sora thought but kept her mouth shut. _Geez, I feel like such a hypocrite…_

"Naruto looks like the winner," Hayate said. Cough, cough…

Naruto threw his hand up in the air and jumped for joy. "YEAH!" he shouted as he flew back up the stairs. "ALL RIGHT!"

Hinata gulped as Naruto passed her team but then she finally had the courage to say his name. "Naruto-kun!" she called softly.

Naruto stopped. "Eh?" he said turning to face her.

"Uh, here's some ointment for your wounds," she said handing him a small box. She blushed as he took it.

"Oh, hey, thanks!" Naruto said happily.

Hinata bowed slightly and went back to her sensei. Kurenai observed this with a watchful eye. _It seems as though Hinata's finally overcome her shyness towards this boy, _she thought. Although it was a small step, she was proud of Hinata.

Naruto opened the box and put some of the ointment on his wounds. They healed almost instantly. _Wow, this stuff really works,_ he thought oblivious to Hinata's real intentions. He walked up to Sora and smiled like an idiot. "Told ya I'd win!" he said as he gave her a thumbs-up sign.

"Really?" she said in a careless joking tone. Naruto's eyes became circles. "I'm just kidding!" she said quickly after seeing his expression. She patted him lightly on the shoulder and then leaned back into Kakashi's grasp. _I feel so lightheaded... _

"Ok, we're going," Kakashi said picking her up bridal style in his arms.

"Hey, can I come?" Naruto asked.

"No," Kakashi said. "I think it might be to your advantage to see the other Genins' fights and to learn their strategies. Sasuke and Sora will be at a disadvantage in the final rounds because they might not have seen their opponents' moves yet." With that he disappeared.

Naruto frowned. _He's trying to keep me from Sora,_ he thought automatically. _I can feel it…_ But he still heeded Kakashi's suggestion and stayed where he was.

Kakashi transported himself and a now unconscious Sora to the emergency room. The doctors and nurses immediately took her into an intensive unit room and told Kakashi that he couldn't come in until later.

After a half an hour, a Medic Nin, Kazuna came out to inform Kakashi on Sora's progress. "She's going to be all right," the Nin said flipping through her clipboard. "But I'm concerned about a few things."

"What?" Kakashi said quickly his heart racing.

"While scanning her Chakra structure, I found that it had been sealed," she started.

"Oh," Kakashi said a little relieved. "Hokage-sama-"

"Yes, he told all the Medic Nins about her seal," she said. "But that's not what worries me." Kakashi's visible eye widened with fear. "I saw that her Chakra structure had been attacked."

"What?"

Kazuna nodded. "Precisely. Usually when sealed, the Chakra skeleton is unable to let Chakra out and also to receive blows directly. This injury was internal to her Chakra skeletal structure although it should have only affected her physically."

Kakashi became even more worried than he had been before. _This is impossible,_ he thought. _Attacks on the internal Chakra skeleton are too high leveled to be the work of a Genin or even most Jounins for that matter. And it had to be powerful enough for it to break through Hokage-sama's seal. _"But will she be able to recover?"

"Maybe, with time," Kazuna said slowly. "If she hadn't lost so much blood, the transition might've been smoother and quicker, though."

_Damn her stubbornness,_ Kakashi thought. "How long?"

"She'll be unconscious for at least a week," was the reply.

"A week?" he repeated. The Chuunin final rounds are going to be held in only three weeks. _If she's out for an entire week,__she'll be at an even greater disadvantage. Not to mention the time it might take for her to recover even after she wakes up._

The Nin nodded. "You can come in tomorrow if you like, but today I want no visitors." Kakashi nodded in a dazed state and Kazuna exited the waiting room.

_It had to be Orochimaru,_ Kakashi thought with rising anger. _He approached me when I was sealing Sasuke's mark. The mark that he gave him. That bastard! _He quickly disappeared out of the room to inform the Hokage of his findings.


	6. Part VI: Three Weeks

Part VI: Three Weeks 

Sora saw a sea of darkness. Swirling mists of black rose and fell around her, but there was no wind. She reached out to touch the mist but it went around her hand and she felt nothing.

"Where am I?" she wondered out loud.

She looked down and saw her feet standing on nothing but what seemed to be an everlasting darkness. Swallowing her surprise and fear, she took a step. The mist swirled upwards as if she had disturbed it from the unseen ground. The blackness stretched as far as the eye could see. It looked like she was floating but she felt like she was standing.

"This is weird," she said to herself for her own comfort. The whole area was making her feel very uncomfortable.

Then a small spark flashed in the distance. "Huh?" She ran towards it. "Hello?" she called. "Is anyone out there?" She stopped running forgetting what it was she had seen. The darkness seemed to eat up any sound she produced, and any thought she had.

_Is this a dream? _She looked around desperately for any sign of movement besides the endless swirling mist.

The darkness was oppressive and she began to feel claustrophobic. The mist made her very uneasy even though she couldn't feel it. A wave of nausea washed over her and she fell to her knees clutching her stomach. _This HAS to be a dream!_ she told herself as a bead of sweat ran down her face. The pain was almost unbearable. She screamed out from the pain unable to hold it in any longer. Her scream echoed through the vast emptiness around her. She clenched her teeth together to stop herself from screaming. The echoes seemed to die away but in its place, a high pitched ringing tone pierced her head. It was unbearable. It seemed to rattle her bones and slash her ear drums. "AHHH!" she cried out from the pain. The ringing became louder and louder. _I'm losing my mind…_

Sora shot up in her hospital bed, eyes open in pain and fear. She was wearing an oxygen mask and had a number of needles stuck in her. It was dark, but not like the darkness from before. The moonlight filtered in the room as Sora attempted to catch her breath. She ripped the mask off. _What was that?_ she asked herself. She soon felt the pain subside and she looked around the room. _Am I in the hospital? HOW LONG HAVE I BEEN ASLEEP?_ She looked at the clock. _It's midnight!_ she thought in a panic even though it didn't really matter what time it was. She swung her legs over the side of her bed and stood up but immediately fell back down. Her head felt incredibly light and she was so dizzy she couldn't see straight.

After her head cleared, she felt an especially irritating needle in her arm and traced the tube up to a packet of blood that was slowly flowing into her body. "I hate needles," she grumbled to herself as she fought the temptation to pull it out. She didn't want to go back to sleep but she didn't want to stay.

_What if I've been out for so long I missed the final rounds?_ She decided that she had to try and stand up again. She slowly lifted herself up from the bed allowing her body to get used to the new position. Once she felt she could let go of the bed railing, she grabbed the stand that the blood packet was attached to and pulled it along as she walked over to the connecting bathroom. She turned on the lights and looked in the mirror. Her hair had been cleaned by someone earlier and her cuts and bruises were gone but she didn't look like she had been asleep for that long. She touched her face. "Hm," she said. She closed the door and carefully turned on the sink to wash her face.

Unknown to Sora, the door to her hospital room opened and Kakashi entered ever so softly. He wanted to see her as soon as possible and the Medic Nin had said the next day so he came the next day. He closed the door behind him and looked towards the bed. It was empty. _WHAT?_ "Sora!" he managed to whisper out even though he wanted to yell. His eyes swept the room in search of any sign of where she could have gone. _Window? Closed._ He ran to the bed and felt the sheets. _They're still warm. That means she couldn't have gone far!_ He started to run for the door when he heard a creak of another door behind him. _Huh?_ He turned around into a blazing light and saw a silhouetted figure in the doorway. He shielded his eyes.

Sora opened the bathroom door to find Kakashi in her room shielding his eyes from the blinding bathroom light. She blinked in surprise. _Huh? Sensei? Here?_

Neither moved. Sora because she was too shocked and confused about what had happened and Kakashi because he was trying to adjust his eyes to the light by blinking rapidly. Then, "Kakashi-sensei?" "Sora!" Pause.

Kakashi was about to run over to Sora and hold her in his arms but he resisted and forced himself back into his usual character. "Uh, Sora," he said pathetically trying to recover from his earlier astonishment. "You're up already?"

Sora was still confused. "Already?"

Kakashi looked at her. "The Medic Nin didn't expect you to wake up for about a week. It's only the day after the preliminaries."

Sora gave a huge sigh of relief. "Oh good. I thought I'd slept through the final rounds." She walked out of the bathroom switching off the lights and switching on the lights in the room. Both blinked from the sudden change of lighting. "Uh, what are you doing here?" she asked as they blinked.

"Oh, I came to check on you."

"At midnight?"

Kakashi cleared his throat. "Yes," he said with way too much confidence. He looked at her as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

Sora shook her head and walked slowly to her bed and sat down. "Well, I feel fine," she said. "You don't have to stay."

Kakashi rubbed his neck trying to look as calm as possible and walked up to her bed and sat down. "I'm just going to make sure you're ok before I leave," he said softly as he touched her forehead with two fingers. "Just relax."

Sora looked up at his fingers and then at his face. His visible eye was closed. Then her mind began to wander. _Hm, I wonder why he wears that mask all the time, _she thought as she looked at her sensei's face. _What would he look like?_ She smiled to herself. _Maybe he's ashamed of how he looks so that's why he covers his face up. _She knew that wasn't true. His visible features looked too handsome for the rest of his face to look ugly. _Maybe he's really handsome,_ she thought. She felt the sudden urge to pull down his mask. _He's hiding something…_ Her arm lifted into the air. _I know he's always late for a reason…_ She reached for the black cloth. _I can see in his eye when he's not concentrating that something's giving him so much pain…_ Her fingers were millimeters away from his face. She could feel the heat radiating from his body. _So mysterious…_ Then she stopped herself. _What the hell am I doing?_ She quickly pulled back her hand but felt it stop against Kakashi's. "Huh?" Kakashi's eye was open and looking at her. She hadn't noticed that he had removed his fingers from her forehead and had been observing her motions quietly. She turned red with embarrassment. "Uh, sorry," she said quietly looking away. _Stupid. I can't believe I just tried to…stupid!_

Kakashi watched her as she beat herself up internally. _I wonder what she was thinking,_ he thought not letting her hand go partially to make her feel uncomfortable and partially because he didn't want to let go. After a while of watching Sora shiver in the awkward silence, he brought their hands down to rest on his knee. "May I ask what you were thinking?" he said kindly.

Sora wanted to pull her hand away and hide under the covers of her bed she was so embarrassed. "Uh, nothing," she stammered. _He's going to kill me…_

Kakashi was thoroughly enjoying her agitation. _She's so cute when she's nervous,_ he thought as he ran his thumb unconsciously over the back of her hand. "Sora?"

Sora blushed even deeper when she felt him stroking her hand. _What the-? He's…is this some sort of joke?_ "I was just curious," she said in the smallest voice possible.

Kakashi smiled and stood up letting go of her hand. "Heh, everyone is," he said looking at her with a hidden smile.

Sora tried to smile back but could only wince nervously. _Geez, he knows how to make a person feel uncomfortable!_

"I'll be back when the sun rises to check on you, but then I'm going away for a while to train Sasuke," Kakashi said walking towards the door.

"Sasuke?" Sora asked.

"Yes. That mark on his shoulder is very dangerous especially to him. He needs special training away from here. I'm sorry that I can't stay and help you but I've found someone who will be an excellent sensei for you and Naruto," he responded.

"Oh," Sora said slightly disappointed that he wasn't going to teach her.

Kakashi knew what she was thinking. _You don't know how much I want to stay but I've got my duty…I can't go against what fate has brought me._ "I know you'll miss me dearly," he said trying to lighten the mood.

Sora twitched her eyebrow at Kakashi. _And he thinks Sasuke's arrogant?_ She sighed and lowered herself in her bed. "Right."

Kakashi smiled to himself and went out of the room shutting the door softly. He planned on staying around the hospital for the night to watch over not only Sora but Sasuke who was on the top floor of the hospital being heavily guarded by an ANBU squad. He sighed. "All three of my students are so…interesting," he said to himself with a chuckle and walked down the hall.

Sora still couldn't sleep. She wasn't tired or fully awake either. She just wanted to get out of the hospital and go back to her apartment. _I don't want to have that dream again,_ she thought. _It felt so…real._ She looked out the window and saw the moon in the sky. It reminded her of her seal. She shuddered. "What is this thing in me?" she asked herself. "I'm not anyone special. I don't want to be anyone special. Why?"

Right at the break of dawn, Kakashi opened Sora's door softly thinking that she was still asleep. He saw her figure lying in the bed facing away from him and walked softly to her bedside and sat down. "Morning," he said softly as he put his hand on her shoulder.

Sora, who hadn't slept at all, turned to face him. Her eyes seemed a little blood shot from all the thinking she had done. "Hi, Sensei," she said.

Kakashi cocked an eyebrow. "You didn't sleep?"

Sora shook her head. "Nah, too much to think about," she said sitting up slowly. Her body was still incredibly sore. "So who's this awesome sensei that you're leaving me and Naruto with?"

"Hm." Kakashi nodded and got up. "He's a ninja specialist who usually only trains the elite ninjas of our village. He may be a better teacher than me, though I doubt it." He smiled pretending to be vain. Sora rolled her eyes. "His name is Ebisu-sensei."

"Ebisu-sensei, huh?" Sora said. "Sounds decent enough."

Kakashi chuckled. "Can you stand?"

Sora got up slowly and took a turn around the room pulling her little stand behind her. "Is this ok?"

Kakashi nodded. "Big improvements already." Then a knock was heard on the door.

"Come in," Sora called.

There was a pause, then the door swung open revealing a very wide-eyed nurse. "HUH? You're supposed to be completely knocked out until next week! I've got to tell Kazuna-sama!" She dropped her clipboard and ran out in a hurry.

Both Sora and Kakashi sweat-dropped. "Ok then," Kakashi said breaking the awkward silence. "I'll see you in three weeks."

"Oh, wait!" Sora said. "Who else passed the preliminaries?"

"Ah, yes. I forgot to tell you that earlier," Kakashi said. "Well, after Naruto went, Hinata and Neji fought."

"Hinata-chan?"

"But I'm afraid her cousin, Neji won," Kakashi said. "It's very interesting that the two Hyuugas were against each other."

Sora's face fell. _Hinata-chan lost, _she thought. _I wonder how she's doing._

"Then Lee vs. Gaara," Kakashi said, his tone becoming a little darker at the mention of Gaara. "Gaara won."

_Oh no. If he was against Gaara, he can't be any good condition now. I should check on him, _Sora thought.

"The final match was Chouji against Dosu from the Sound village. Dosu won," Kakashi said. "They did a drawing of the first rounds after the preliminaries. You got number nine and you're up against Dosu first. Naruto got one, Neji two, Sasuke three, Gaara four, Kankuro five, Shino six, Shikamaru seven, and Temari eight. You should have a good idea of what your options are with these competitors now." Sora nodded. Kakashi looked at her determination and a slight worry rose in his mind. "I don't want you to go beyond your limits," he ordered. "You're at an even bigger disadvantage now that you've, uh, lost so much blood as well as your Chakra. Use this time to build up your bodily strength again and sleep every night."

"Yes, Sensei," Sora said automatically while eyeing his face. _There's something he's not telling me._

Kakashi knew she was expecting something else. "All right then, I'll see you in three weeks at the exam."

Sora started to say something but he was gone. "Sensei!" she said in frustration. _He knows I know that he's hiding something. _

Then the nurse came back with the head Medic Nin. "LOOK! SHE'S AWAKE!" the nurse said pointing a shaky finger at Sora.

Kazuna looked at Sora with shock. "This is interesting," she said calmly more to herself than for the good of the group. She walked over to Sora to inspect her. "Hm." She touched Sora's heart area and sensed that her internal injuries were amazingly almost healed. _This can't be right,_ she thought. _Internal Chakra wounds are usually life-long injuries or at least long-standing ones._ _I need to tell Hokage-sama about this._ "Well, you look fine to me," she said at last. "I wouldn't do anything too active too soon though. You did have quite a bit of blood loss but I think we can get you off of the IV." She led Sora over to the bed and made her sit down. "You can go," she told the other nurse.

She nodded still slightly in a daze and shut the door behind her.

Kazuna proceeded to take the needles out of Sora. After a few minutes, Sora was completely free from any needles, tubes, or machines.

"Thanks," Sora said moving her newly freed arm around. It was sore from inactivity.

"No problem," Kazuna said smiling. "You're well enough to walk around a bit if you want to. Ebisu-sensei is going to be here in an hour or so."

Sora nodded and Kazuna left the room. "Well," she said out loud to herself, "if she said I can leave my room…" She headed towards the lobby on her floor to ask where Sasuke, Lee, Hinata, and Kiba were staying. She knew that Shikamaru and Naruto were probably not in the hospital since they won their matches without too much hassle. She walked up to the receptionist. "Excuse me."

"Hm? Oh, yes. How can I help you?"

"I'm looking for a list of people that probably all came in yesterday from the Chuunin exam."

"I've got the list right here. Who is it that you want?" Sora listed off all the names of her friends. "Hyuuga Hinata is in room 245 but she's in intensive care so I wouldn't see her till tomorrow. Inuzuka Kiba has already gone home. Oh, but here is Rock Lee's room number, uh, 213. But I'm afraid that Uchiha Sasuke's room is confidential."

"Oh, ok," Sora said. _Hinata-chan… _She saw on the wall that she was on the second floor and that both rooms were in the same direction. "Thank you." The lady nodded and Sora started down the hall. _I guess I can only visit Lee today then._ She soon came to room 213. She knocked but there was no answer so she cracked the door open and slipped in.

She stared in disbelief at the state Lee was in. His left arm and leg were completely wrapped up in bandages as well as his chest and back. Numerous visible cuts and bruises covered his face and the other hand that was resting on top of the blanket. Sora could tell from the charts that his heartbeat was very slow and that he had been on an oxygen mask for a while. She sat in a chair next to his bed and laid a hand on his.

"Lee-san," she whispered. "What did he do to you?" She felt her eyes become slightly wet. _In this condition, he probably won't be able to become a ninja. His Chakra's only limited to Taijutsu and can't heal his injuries._ She sat for a while stroking Lee's hand. _Gaara must be incredibly powerful if he could put Lee into this state. Lee isn't the kind to be beaten easily._ Then she saw that a shadow had covered her. "Huh?" she said as she turned around. Her red eyes met pale green ones. It was Gaara. She stood up in a flash and clenched her fists automatically. "You," she said. "What did you do to him?"

Gaara's eyes cut through Sora's. "Stand aside," he said completely ignoring her question. He advanced forward.

"No," Sora said narrowing her eyes as a defense against his piercing gaze. She held her ground and didn't move.

"I don't want to hurt you," he said without showing any sign of stopping.

"So you want to hurt Lee?" Sora spat. "After what you already did to him?"

Then Gaara stopped suddenly looking almost puzzled. "What is he to you?"

_What kind of question is that?_ Sora thought. "Why do you want to know?"

"Why are you protecting him even though you know that if we fought I could easily kill you?" he asked again.

Sora knew it to be true. Her Chakra was gone and her body was physically weak but she pretended to be confident. "Oh really?" she said without thinking but the fear stood out in her eyes. _Is he really going to attack?_

Gaara read her expression and stretched his hand towards her. Sand seeped out from the gourd on his back.

_What's that?_ Sora thought as she prepared to block any attack that came at her. The sand flowed slowly towards Sora. She stepped back. _This can't be an attack. It's too slow. What's he doing?_ She continued inching back until her legs hit Lee's bed. Her eyes widened. "Stop," she ordered but with a slight falter in her voice.

Gaara gazed at her intensely. "Why?" He controlled the sand so that it began to enwrap Sora's body.

Sora wanted to get out but couldn't leave Lee alone in the room with Gaara. She sliced her hand through the air and broke the stream of sand just long enough to get out of its grasp. "Stop it now!"

"No," Gaara said. _She's just like me. I can feel it. I must have her._ He thrust both of his hands forward and the sand zipped through the air and bound Sora's hands and legs. He motioned for the sand to bring Sora forward.

Sora closed her eyes and screamed but the sand covered her mouth and swallowed the sound. _I've got to get out,_ she thought panicking. _I need to get help._ Then she opened her eyes but gasped when she saw Gaara's just inches away from hers.

"Why do you care for him?" he asked slowly. "What is he to you?"

Sora shook her head refusing to answer.

Gaara grabbed her arms with his own hands and allowed the sand from her mouth to drop down. He drew her even closer. "Answer me."

His eyes bore holes into hers. The sand continuously seeped around her body, over her skin. Sora felt the sand go under her shirt and gasped slightly. She didn't like his eyes. She didn't like being this close to him. "Let me go!" she said defiantly and tried to move but the sand held her still.

Then Gaara leaned in and captured her lips in his. A wave of ecstasy washed over him. _I've never felt like this. This feeling…her soft lips, her jeweled eyes._ He had never felt another person's skin before. All his life he'd had his sand to protect him no matter what. Even in his fight with Lee when he had actually felt pain for the first time in his life. It was only through an armor of sand covering his body. But now there was no sand armor. There was nothing between him and Sora. He had made the first move to touch her.

Sora tried to pull back but couldn't move. She felt his lips work against her as his tongue slid across her lips trying to get them to part. She refused to give in.

Gaara hungrily pushed Sora into his wall of sand. _I need more. She's mine!_ He ran his fingers through her hair. This new sensation of someone else being so close to him drove him mad. He broke the kiss for air.

"Get away from me!" Sora gasped out when he stopped. _He doesn't even know me. What kind of perv-_ Then she felt the sand release her as she dropped to the floor. She looked up and saw Gaara standing perfectly still. _What?_

"What the hell are you doing here?" Sora heard Naruto's voice.

"Naruto?" Sora said moving away from Gaara who was still gazing at her with his eyes.

"Sora?" she heard two voices say. She stood up and looked towards the door and saw Naruto and Shikamaru who was using his Shadow technique to trap Gaara.

"Shikamaru!" she said in relief moving quickly beside them.

Naruto stared in surprise. "What're you doing here?"

"I came to visit Lee-san and then-"

"Sora, are you all right?" Shikamaru asked with a worried look on his face. "What was he doing to you?"

Sora looked at Gaara who had turned around and was looking straight at her. She shuddered. She didn't want to tell them about his advancements.

"Well it's a good thing we got here in time," Naruto said angrily glaring at Gaara with clenched fists.

Sora quietly thanked Naruto for his brashness.

Shikamaru's attention turned towards Gaara as well. "You'd better explain yourself," he said.

Gaara narrowed his eyes slowly. "I came to finish what I started," he stated.

"And what was that?" Naruto asked.

Shikamaru looked at Naruto incredulously. "You dumbass. He came to finish off Lee."

Naruto looked at Lee. "Oh," he said stupidly.

"Well, we've got you outnumbered and trapped at the moment so you can either leave quietly now or we'll just have to force you out," Shikamaru said. _I hope he falls for this stupid bluff,_ he thought.

Gaara looked at him unblinking.

_He didn't fall for it, _Shikamaru thought. _Well of course he didn't…I don't think I'll be able to hold him much longer._

Naruto looked at Shikamaru. _Dammit, he didn't go for our bluff,_ he thought. _What do we do now?_

Then the door swung open and Gai-sensei appeared. "Good morn-WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON HERE?" he shouted at the Genins in the room. "Lee needs his sleep! Can't you see?" Then he realized the situation.

The three Konoha Genins sweat-dropped.

"You!" Gai said moving so that he was in between Gaara and the rest of the group. "I don't think you should be here."

Shikamaru let his shadow fall back to normal releasing Gaara since Gai-sensei was here. He leaned against the wall for support since a lot of his energy was temporarily gone.

Gaara said nothing but exited the room with a final glance at Sora.

She shivered at his gaze but then turned her attention to Gai-sensei who was going to yell at them.

"What was he doing here?" he asked with anger still apparent in his voice.

Naruto jumped in immediately. "We were just going to come in to visit Lee and then we saw this big mass of sand and so Shikamaru caught him in his Shadow jutsu and then we saw Sora and then-"

"Enough," Gai interrupted. "I suggest that you all leave now. Lee is in a very critical condition from his fight."

The three Genins nodded and cautiously inched towards the door fearing that Gaara was in the hall waiting for them but once in the hallway, there was no one in sight. "Whew," Naruto said. "That was intense."

"Sora, what was he doing to you in there?" Shikamaru asked again taking her by the shoulders.

"It was…he was-" she stammered. "He was going to attack Lee and I tried to stop him. Then you guys came."

"It didn't look like that was all," Shikamaru said looking into Sora's eyes.

Naruto pulled Shikamaru back. "Hey back off," he said defensively. "All we could see was a whirling mass of sand anyway."

Sora silently thanked Naruto again.

Shikamaru shook Naruto off with a humph. He knew that something else happened in there but he didn't want to bother with Naruto anymore so he decided to try and get Sora when she was alone.

Naruto glared at Shikamaru but then turned his attention to Sora. "Hey did Kakashi-sensei see you today?" he asked.

"Yes," Sora said.

"He told me that he was going off somewhere to train Sasuke and left us with this Ebisu guy! I think he's playing favorites with Sasuke!" Naruto said with a huff. _Everything's always about Sasuke…_

"Really?" Sora said. _I guess Kakashi-sensei didn't mention how dangerous that mark on Sasuke's shoulder is to Naruto,_ she thought. "I don't think he's playing favorites, though," she said carefully. "It's just that Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei have similar techniques with the Sharingan and who else is better to teach Sasuke how to use it?"

Naruto still frowned but felt slightly better about the whole thing. "I don't think this Ebisu guy's good enough for us though," he scoffed.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "We should probably head down to the lobby since your new sensei should be waiting for you already."

Sora looked at the clock on the wall. "Oh, yeah," she said.

"Really?" Naruto asked. "Hm…what time did Kakashi say that he was gonna-"

"He said 9, dobe," Shikamaru said rolling his eyes again. "You really do forget anything anyone tells you."

Naruto glared at Shikamaru. "Well, you-"

"Let's just head down there, ok?" Sora said smiling shakily trying to keep the two guys from arguing. She grabbed an angry Naruto's arm and dragged him down the hallway as Shikamaru followed with his hands in his pockets. Once they were in the main lobby, they saw a man dressed in all black with sunglasses and a bandanna on. He looked strange, to say the least.

"Ah, yes," the man said upon seeing Sora and Naruto. "You're finally here. You know, you are a minute and 32 seconds late." He held the air of a snob around him.

Sora and Shikamaru looked at each other with raised eyebrows while Naruto stared at the new sensei. "You!" he yelled out in shock. "You're that closet pervert!"Everyone in the lobby turned to look at Naruto. There was a very awkward silence. "Uh, I think I'll go now," Shikamaru said to Sora. Sora nodded. "Good luck." He nodded towards Naruto who was pointing at a very uneasy looking Ebisu-sensei then he slipped out the hospital door.

"Hold your tongue, you disrespectful child!" Ebisu-sensei hissed regaining his former snob air. "I am to be called Ebisu-sensei or just Sensei, understand?" The hospital lobby went back to its usual busy hum.

Naruto crossed his arms and frowned. "Not on your life!" he said defiantly. "Come on, Sora. This guy's a real loser."

Sora looked at Naruto shocked. "I'm guessing you've met before."

Naruto nodded in disdain. "Yeah, and he fell for my Sexy no Jutsu in one second flat," he said. "But he claims to be this powerful ninja guy."

_Sexy no Jutsu?_ Sora asked herself. Then it hit her. "NARUTO YOU PERVERT!" she shouted.

Naruto then realized what he had said. "No, no! I mean he's just really-"

Ebisu clamped his hand over Naruto's mouth. "I didn't want to train you either, boy," he said quietly but angrily. "I'm only doing this as a favor to Kakashi."

Naruto pushed Ebisu's hand off of his mouth. "I'm not going to be your student and neither is Sora!"

Sora was still twitching at the fact that Naruto could even use that stupid Sexy no Jutsu technique.

"Fine," Ebisu said. "I'll make a deal with you. If you can run away from me, then I won't train you. But if you can't, you will both have to submit to my training with obedience and respect!"

"No problem!" Naruto said smirking. "Come on!" He grabbed Sora's arm and dragged her out of the hospital and disappeared.

Ebisu smiled and calmly walked out of the hospital and jumped after them.

"Naruto you perv!" Sora yelled at Naruto as they jumped from rooftop to rooftop. "I can't believe you would even use that stupid technique!"

Naruto laughed nervously. "I only did it to get him off my back!" he said. "He's the perv, not me!"

Sora sighed knowing that she wasn't going to get anywhere with Naruto. "If I ever see you doing that stupid-"

"You won't! I promise!" Naruto said quickly. They both stopped and looked around for any sign of Ebisu-sensei. "Hah! I guess he's not so good after-"

"A-hem!" The two turned around and saw Ebisu standing with his arms crossed in a triumphant smile.

"WHA!" Naruto shouted and backed away.

_He's better than I thought he was,_ Sora said as she also backed away.

"I'm not going to lose to the likes of you!" Naruto said. "Sora! Split up!"

Sora nodded. _Let's see just how good this guy is,_ she thought. The two jumped in opposite directions.

Ebisu smiled. "This'll be interesting," he said. "Kage Buushin no Jutsu!" An Ebisu clone appeared and they split up each following one Genin.

Sora ran towards the center of the village hoping that she could blend in with the crowd there. She landed in the midst of the shoppers in the busy market street making sure that there was always a way of escape just in case Ebisu found her. The streets were overly crowded that day since there was a special sale going on for the arrival of the many visitors for the Chuunin exam. Sora stayed as low as possible and tried to act like she was just a normal shopper. She covered her hair as much as possible with her forehead protector and always kept her guard up.

Naruto on the other hand ran blindly and found himself on the top of a high tower overlooking the village. _Hehehe,_ he thought, _He'll never find me here!_

"You really aren't that bright, are you?" Ebisu asked yawning.

"KE?" Naruto yelled and almost fell off of the tower. "What the crap?"

"You'd better run," Ebisu said.

"Why you…KAGE BUUSHIN NO JUTSU!" Numerous Narutos appeared. "Catch me now, you closet pervert!" they all shouted as they sprinted off in different directions.

Ebisu sighed and shook his head. "Impressive but still stupid. Kage Buushin no Jutsu." The same number of Ebisus appeared and each took off after his own Naruto.

Sora began to get nervous. _This is strange,_ she thought as she pretended to look at some fried squid that was being sold. _If he's such a great ninja then he should have found me by now._ She sensed that something wasn't right, then-

"Why, hello there!" Ebisu said cheerfully buying the stick of squid Sora had been looking at. "Want some?"

Sora stumbled backwards. "AH!" She scrambled to get away. She jumped up onto the roof of a nearby building. _He's creepy!_ she thought. She jumped from building to building as fast as she could. _Wait a minute. Kazuna-sama said that I shouldn't be doing strenuous activities._ She stopped to think. _Well, why am I running anyway? Oh yeah, Naruto says he's weak and a pervert. Pervert?_

"What's such a pretty girl like yourself doing up here?" Ebisu said appearing out of nowhere.

Sora's eyes widened in agitation. _Ok, that's crossing it._ "Get away from me!" she yelled and took off again not thinking about Kazuna's warning.

After a while of chasing and running, both Genins met up at the bridge where they usually met Kakashi-sensei. They were exhausted. Sora because she was still weak from her injuries and Naruto because he had spent too much of his energy making clones. "Man, this guy doesn't give up does he?" Naruto said collapsing on the bridge next to a panting Sora.

Sora closed her eyes and tried to calm her breathing. "He's better than he looks," she finally said.

"That's still not saying much," Naruto snorted even though he knew that Ebisu was indeed a pretty powerful ninja. Then he appeared.

"Tired out already?" he asked in a mocking tone. "I'm afraid I win then and you will now have to respect me and call me Ebisu-sensei!" He smiled at Sora.

Sora glared at him.

"Oh yeah?" Naruto yelled and he rushed at him with surprising energy and threw a punch at Ebisu's face. Ebisu easily sidestepped it and hit Naruto up over the railing on the bridge and into the water.

"Naruto!" Sora yelled as she stood up. She glared even harder at Ebisu. _He's very good…_

"Now," Ebisu said walking up to Sora. "We did have an agreement, didn't we?" He carelessly let his eyes sweep over Sora's body because he knew she couldn't see them behind his sunglasses. "Let's go to the hot springs then."

"What?" Sora and Naruto asked at the same time. Naruto jumped on the bridge. "What kind of training would that be?"

"You'll just have to see," Ebisu said motioning them to follow him. The two begrudgingly followed. Once at the hot springs Ebisu poked his head into the men's hot spring to make sure that they were the only ones there. Then he explained his exercise. "I know Kakashi's made you do the tree exercise with your Chakra," he said.

_Oh shoot,_ Sora thought fearfully knowing what was coming.

"Now walking on water is an entirely different level of Chakra control. You must not only concentrate your Chakra at your feet, you must be able to keep it a constant amount the entire time so as to balance out the water tension." He motioned for the two to follow him into the hot spring area.

"I can't," Sora said. "It's the men's hot spring!"

"No one's here," Ebisu said nonchalantly.

Sora turned red. "You can't be serious."

"I am," Ebisu said.

"Don't leave me alone with him in there," Naruto whispered in Sora's ear. "Please!"

Sora sighed. "This is so wrong," she muttered but entered in after Naruto. The spring was indeed empty but there was splashing on the other side indicating that the women's hot spring was not empty.

"Observe," Ebisu said as he walked out on the water.

"Hm, hm," Naruto said nodding. "That looks easy enough." He ran out on the water.

"Naruto! It's harder than you think!" Sora shouted after him.

Naruto wobbled a bit but then stood up. "HAH! This is too easy," he said confidently then he began to sink. "Wha? Uh, AHHH!" He was completely submerged.

Sora shook her head and Ebisu laughed. "Overconfidence won't get you anywhere," he said.

Naruto shot up from the water literally steaming and as red as a lobster. "IT'S HOT!" he shouted trying frantically to cool down.

"Of course it is, baka! It's a HOT spring!" Sora said a little annoyed. "You can't just rush into these sorts of things. It takes concentration and actual thinking!"

"Ah, so the little lady has already done this training exercise?" Ebisu said a little seductively.

Sora didn't like his tone. Naruto didn't like his tone. "Hey, don't talk to her like that you closet pervert!" he said to Ebisu.

Then at that moment, a small laugh was heard from behind them. An older looking man with long, big, spiky white hair was crouched near the wall separating the men's and women's hot spring. "Oh, very nice, very nice," they heard him say.

Sora's eyes went round and she was temporarily paralyzed. _A-no-ther_ _per-vert?_

Ebisu suddenly jumped in front of Naruto and Sora. "Hey you! That is very inappropriate behavior and I will not tolerate it in my presence!"

"Huh?" the white-haired man said and stood up to face the trio.

"Peeking is prohibited in this hot spring, sir!" Ebisu cried.

_Since when did he become so obsessed with propriety?_ Sora thought sweat-dropping.

"It's not peeking! It's research!" the man said turning back to his peeking.

"That is no way to behave in front of a lady!" Ebisu shouted at the man.

"Lady?" he asked looking back around. Then he spotted Sora. "Oohoohoo!" he said happily jumping up. _She is one sexy lady,_ he thought. _Perfect model for my next character!_ He looked over Sora's body. _Yes, yes. Curves in all the right places, bust not too big but yet so established. Mature-looking, yes, yes…_

Sora turned a deep shade of red when she saw what the man was doing. _Is he--checking her out?_ Naruto thought at the same time. "Hey you-"

"-perverted old man!" Ebisu cried out when he noticed what the guy was looking at. "I will defend my student's dignity!" He ran at the old guy.

The man straitened himself up and then in a poof of smoke Ebisu was down.

"What happened?" Naruto asked eagerly. "Where'd the perverts go?"

Sora twitched her eyebrow. "I'm leaving," she said.

"Wha-wait! Sora!" Naruto grabbed her arm.

Then the smoke cleared revealing a huge frog that was on top of Ebisu.

"WHOA! A summoning technique!" Naruto said letting go of Sora. "I've got to learn how to do that!"

Sora frowned and proceeded to leave the hot springs but she was stopped by the man. "What's your name?" he asked leaning in and staring at her chest.

Sora was shocked at his audacity and became angrier. "YOU PERVERT!" she shouted and slapped him across the face.

_Feisty, yes, yes,_ he thought rubbing his cheek. He looked at the very beautiful but very angry red-haired girl in front of him. "Ah, you are the perfect model for the next character in my series!"

"And what series is that?" Naruto asked running up to them.

The man chuckled then whipped out a copy of his book. "ICHA ICHA PARADISE of course!"

Both of the Genins sweat-dropped. They recognized the book. _That's the book that Kakashi-sensei reads,_ Sora and Naruto thought.

"I'M SURROUNDED BY PERVERTS!" Sora yelled grabbing her hair.

Naruto tried to calm her down while the man stood chuckling at the two. "But hey, hey, perverted guy!" Naruto said.

The man stopped chuckling and looked annoyed. "I'm not a pervert! I am the great and famous Frog Tamer Hermit, Jiraiya!" He struck a pose.

"Ok, then, Perverted Hermit! Can you teach me how to do that summoning thing with the frog?" Naruto asked excitedly.

Jiraiya fell down and twitched. _This kid must have something wrong with him,_ he thought. "No," he said getting up.

"What?" Naruto said.

"I don't have time to train you," he said. "I've gotten an inspiration from this very fine young lady here for my next book!"

Sora snapped back to reality. "I don't want any part of your perverted novels!" she shouted. "We're going back to the village!" She tried to walk out dragging Naruto behind her.

"But Sora! This guy's really powerful! I know he can train us better than that closet pervert ever could!" Naruto pleaded.

"Naruto, do you realize that he wants to make me a character in his…his book?" Sora said with wide eyes. "There's no way-"

"But you'll be famous! Millions of people everywhere read my books!" Jiraiya said.

Sora's eyebrow twitched. "I don't want to be known as some slut in a porn book," she stated flatly.

"It's not a porn book, as you call it!" Jiraiya insisted. "It is a piece of literature!"

_I can't believe I'm still here,_ Sora thought. "Fine Naruto," she said. "You can train from this guy, but I'm finding someone else. Ok?"

Naruto knew that he couldn't convince Sora no matter what but he didn't want to give up his chance for getting Jiraiya as his sensei. He nodded and let Sora go.

Sora walked out of the springs and ran as fast as should could back to the village. She didn't stop until she saw the outskirts of the town. She leaned up against a tree to catch her breath. "What a day," she said. "I can't believe Kakashi-sensei would read something like that!"

"Something like what?" a voice said from somewhere.

Sora started and turned to face the voice. "Neji!"

The Hyuuga walked up to her calmly and nodded.

"Oh, uh, you surprised me," she stammered.

"I'm sorry to have disturbed you," he said softly, "but you also surprised me."

Sora looked around the area and saw that Neji had been training by himself. The trees had weapons sticking into them every which way and the ground had many deep holes. "I interrupted your training? Uh, um, I'm really sorry," Sora said quickly. "I'll go now."

"You don't have to," Neji said. "I was just about to stop for the day anyway since it's almost dinner. Care to join me?"

Sora was shocked. She looked into his clear colorless eyes. "Sure," she said without thinking. _What am I doing?_ she thought. _He put Hinata-chan in the ICU _and _he might be my opponent!_ They started walking towards the village.

Neji brought Sora to a small stand where they each bought some food. Then they decided on eating in the gardens since it was a beautiful evening. "I'm surprised that you recovered so quickly from your state yesterday," Neji said once they sat down on a bench in the park.

Sora blushed slightly. "Yeah, I was too. But I thought I'd missed the matches when I woke up. It felt like I'd been asleep forever," she said. She remembered her nightmare and covered up a small wince.

Neji could sense her agitation. "I can see with my Byakugan that you hold many painful memories," he said slowly without looking at her.

Sora tensed. "Byakugan?" she asked shakily trying to turn the subject from herself to him.

Neji nodded. "I don't have the right to ask what you're going through but I will tell you that I am willing to help you in any way I can." He said this with such a calm and collected air that Sora forgot to think how straightforward he was being.

"Why would you do that?" Sora asked.

Neji turned his clear eyes to look into Sora's red. "I see many similarities between you and me. I've never met anyone who knows my pain as I feel you do."

Sora thought over what he said before she spoke. "What do you know of my pain?" She didn't want to sound skeptical or rude; she was just intrigued by his confidence.

"You know that I can read minds," he started carefully. "I don't do it all the time but I did see in your mind that you had some sort of seal keeping you from your full potential. I suspect it has something to do with your Chakra since you fought without using it and I can't see a Chakra aurora around you when I use my Byakugan."

Sora didn't speak. His eyes had her hypnotized.

"I have a seal. The seal from my fate of being of the branch family of my clan," he said with a hint of anger in his voice.

"Branch?"

"Yes. Hinata-sama, my cousin, is from the head family. Our fathers were twin brothers but it was determined that my father was the younger of the two and therefore was sealed to be part of the branch family. The only reason we supposedly exist is to protect and serve the head family. We can never harm them and that is the purpose of my seal." He paused for a second to search Sora's eyes for a response. She was intrigued and waited for him to continue. "But I call it a curse." He narrowed his eyes. "My fate is to live with this curse for the rest of my life. Nothing can change it but nothing can change my deep resentment for the head family either. It's because of them my father…" He stopped and looked away. "I'm sorry I shouldn't..."

"No," Sora said quickly. She knew he needed to talk to someone and she happened to be there. "What happened to your father?"

"They killed him," Neji said shortly.

"The head family?" Sora asked in amazement.

Neji nodded. "As a replacement for my uncle. When Hinata-sama was very young, she was kidnapped by a Mist Nin. Her father stopped the ninja before he could get out of the Hyuuga estate by killing him but the Mist country refused to acknowledge that one of their ninjas would do such a thing and they demanded that the life of their Nin be repaid by the life of Hinata's father. But because my father was of the branch family and also his twin, they sent him to die instead."

"That's so cruel," Sora said more to herself than to Neji. "How could someone send a family member off to die? Didn't they try to find the truth? Didn't the Hokage do something?"

"No," Neji said bitterly clenching his fist. "They didn't want any inconveniences." He leaned forward so that his elbows were resting on his knees. "If fate cannot be changed then I refuse to let my feelings change towards the head family. They don't deserve what's called forgiveness."

"Then why become a shinobi?" Sora asked.

Neji looked at Sora from the corner of his eye. "I was blessed at birth to have been a Hyuuga genius. I know I have the potential to become greater than any head family descendent. It must tie into my destiny somehow. Perhaps if I become strong enough, my fate is to break the head and branch family bonds and reestablish my clan."

"So you really do believe in fate then," Sora said quietly. "Because you were born with your special abilities your destiny is to reorder your clan. What would you do if you didn't have your abilities?"

Neji sat back up. "I…I've never thought about it. I guess I wouldn't bother even trying to become a shinobi. There would be no point."

_No point?_ Sora thought. _If one doesn't have a clear cut vision of what their future should be then is there no point in trying to achieve a seemingly impossible goal?_

Neji knew what she was thinking. "That is what I believe," he said.

Sora started at his response to her thoughts but then remembered his ability to read minds.

"What do you feel is your destiny?" Neji asked.

Sora looked at her hands and saw the wrappings covering the burn mark from Sasuke's curse. "I don't know," she said. "I honestly try not to think about it."

"Why?" he asked returning his gaze to her face.

"Because I ask myself that same question I asked you. If I had nothing to go on, what would I be doing? I don't know about my past. I don't know how I even got this far. I guess I seem to have a talent for the ninja arts but at the same time, I don't know why I'm pursuing it. It's not a dream of mine…no, it's a fulfillment of a promise to my father…well, my adopted father. Maybe if I hadn't made that promise, I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't have had to go through all that I did." She closed her eyes. _There was so much pain…_ The sound of the clock striking 6 echoed in the distance bringing Sora back to her senses. "I'm sorry, I took too much of your time for training," she stuttered as she hastily stood up.

Neji stood as well. "No, I…" _Why is there so much pain in your life? What happened in your past? _"I enjoyed this time with you." He took her trash from her dinner and threw both of their trash away in the can next to their bench.

Sora smiled. "Yeah, me too," she said.

Neji smiled back, something that was even rarer than Shikamaru's smile. "Sora, thank you for listening…I've never really told anyone about this before," he said averting his eyes slightly.

"Of course," she said. _We are similar. I've never really told too many people about my feelings before either._ She looked at Neji who was looking off into the darkening sky. She knew it was stupid of her to do this but she gently slipped her arm around his. "Let's go," she said.

Neji almost blushed at her touch and followed her obediently out of the garden. They walked in a comfortable silence to Sora's apartment building. "Thanks," Sora said softly. "You don't have to come up."

Neji looked at her and felt the sudden urge to capture her in an embrace. "Are you sure?"

Sora nodded. "You should probably get back to your home. We've both got to rest for training tomorrow." She started to leave but then felt him pull her back.

Neji pulled her closer leaning in. "Sora, I-" Their heads moved closer together. His heart was beating rapidly, but he controlled himself to just a small, quick kiss on her cheek. _What am I thinking?_ he yelled at himself mentally. He turned quickly away and started walking rapidly down the street.

Sora stood motionless in front of her apartment building for a while. Then she looked down sadly. _These guys…_ she thought. _I have to stop being so stupid and careless. They're going to get hurt…_ She liked Neji. He was very deep and interesting to talk to. She didn't want to see him get hurt. _But I can't control their hearts,_ she thought as she walked up the stairs to her apartment. She unlocked the door and went inside.

"It's good to be back!" she said trying to cheer herself up. She felt exhausted from the ridiculous run she had had from Ebisu-sensei. _Kakashi-sensei said I should get as much sleep as possible. Soooo..._ She took a quick shower and changed into her nightwear. Then she began meditating in the middle of her room. _I've been remiss in my meditations…_ she thought as she drifted in and out of consciousness. For once in a very long time, she didn't have any strange visions while she was meditating. It was just pure silence and relaxation and Sora was enjoying it thoroughly. _Hmmm…I wish I could stay like this forever,_ she thought absently. _Away from stress and pressures…away from pain and sorrow._

Then she heard the window slide open. Quickly but reluctantly she opened her eyes to see who had entered. There was no one there but the window was indeed open. Her eyes widened with a hint of fear. _Gaara? No, it can't be. What if it's that snake man? What if it's-_ She gasped as someone grabbed her shoulder from behind. She immediately reacted by throwing her fist at the person's head but his hand stopped hers. "Sasuke!" He didn't reply but took her in his arms holding her tightly. Sora started. "Sasuke?"

"I had to see you one more time before I go," he whispered in her ear. He ran his fingers through her still wet hair. "I had to make sure you were ok."

Sora pushed back so that they could talk face to face. "Me? I'm fine! _You_ should still be in the hospital!" She grabbed the top of his shirt in order to pull it down to reveal Sasuke's mark but he stopped her.

"It's fine," he said slightly narrowing his eyes. "Don't touch it." He grabbed Sora's hand that had the burn from his mark.

"This can't be right," Sora said shaking her head. "They couldn't have just let you out! You had an entire ANBU squad in your room for goodness sake!"

"Sora-"

"You're not fully healed! Kakashi-sensei must be crazy to expect you to be able to train!"

"Sora, just-" He held her head still and looked straight into her eyes. "I didn't see a squad in my room when I woke up," he said. "I didn't see anyone, but I had to get out of there. This curse can't hurt me for now since Kakashi sealed it."

Sora stared back into his eyes with a confused expression. _What about the squad? Did something happen? Kakashi-sensei can seal curses?_ Usually only the highest level Jounins and Special class ninjas could seal curses. Sora was impressed but only for a little while. She was more concerned with the lack of the squad in Sasuke's room.

Sasuke searched the silent girl's face for a reaction but found none. He knew she was confused about something. In truth, he was confused too but he didn't show it. He leaned his forehead against hers. "I leave tomorrow for training," he said moving his hands down her neck.

"You…you can't," Sora whispered shakily. Sasuke looked at her questioningly. "There's too much obscurity here. Something's going on that's much more than this Chuunin exam and you're in the middle of it. It's not safe."

Sasuke breathed out slowly. "It doesn't matter," he said. "I can't let that stop me from training."

"But Sasuke-"

"I have to get stronger to fulfill my destiny, my fate," he interrupted.

"You-" This time Sora was cut off by Sasuke's lips on hers.

Sasuke suckled her top lip wanting to get more. He pushed forward to deepen the kiss. A wave of arousal washed over him as he let his hands wander freely down to Sora's waist and lower back.

Sora broke the kiss with some difficulty. "Sasuke," she gasped trying to catch her breath. She felt his hands beginning to pull down her pants as he left a trail of kisses on her neck and shoulder. "We can't do this!" She stopped his hands but couldn't stop his body. He pushed her back until she hit the table against the wall.

"I leave tomorrow morning," he said roughly. "How could I go for three weeks without seeing you, without touching you again?"

Sora shivered at his words. She could sense his rising desire. "We shouldn't-"

"Just one more night," he whispered coarsely. He tried to kiss her lips again but only caught half of her mouth as she turned her face away.

"Sasuke, listen to me," she said pushing him away with some force so that she could see him eye to eye. "If you do go off in training tomorrow, you need rest. You need to sleep tonight. We can't do this."

Sasuke knew she was right but didn't want to admit it. "Sor-"

"No. You're sleeping here tonight…alone," she said with a definite tone. "It's not safe for you to go out." She managed to get out from between his body and the table and she quickly shut the window.

"No, Sora-"

She shook her head and grabbed his arm and pulled him into the bedroom. She pushed him down so he was sitting on the bed. "Now go to sleep," she ordered. "I really don't think it's a good idea to start you on training so soon after your recovery but since you're not going to listen to me on that point at least listen to me now." She walked to the door and looked back to see a sort of shocked Sasuke still sitting on the edge of her bed looking at her. "What?"

Sasuke snapped out of his daze. "Uh, nothing, it's just I've never seen you so absolutely commanding before," he said with his trademark smirk.

Sora's eyebrow twitched. "Just go to sleep, ok?" she said and went out of the room closing the door behind her.

Sasuke knew better than to disobey Sora now. He swung his legs on the bed and covered himself with the blankets. The faint aroma of Sora's scent hung about the room as he tried to fall asleep. It was driving him insane. _God, she's addictive,_ he thought as he put his hands behind his head.

Sora rubbed her temples and paced the room. _No ANBU squad? Nobody even in the freakin' room! And he just left! Sasuke you idiot! You don't know how dangerous it's become! _She finally stopped pacing and leaned against the wall. _Something is definitely wrong…I've got to find Kakashi-sensei!_

She quietly locked all the windows and then slipped out the door locking it behind her as well. The village was quiet that night as the moon shone in the sky. _Where does he live?_ she thought looking around. She went down the stairs and out of the building. _Well, he seems to be out at night a lot since he's always pretty tired in the morning…reading his stupid book… _Jiraiya popped into her thoughts. She cringed. _I need to get him to stop reading that._ She leaped up on the roof of her apartment building to look around. _This is stupid,_ she scolded herself_. You're never gonna find him. _She tried to think. _Yeah, this is insane, _she agreed with herself. _But I'm going to the Hokage's building. Maybe he's there._

She ran off into the night jumping from roof to roof. Finally she reached her destination. She paused to look around and then started up the long stairway but she felt a hand on her shoulder. She gasped and turned around to see her sensei. "Kakashi-sensei!" she whispered in shock.

"What are you doing here, Sora? It's almost midnight," he said with a questioning tone.

"I-uh, I was looking for you!" she said.

"Why?"

"You told me that Sasuke had an ANBU squad in his room!" she said raising her voice a little from anger. "But he's not in the hospital anymore now!"

"And how do you know that?"

Sora paused. _Shoot, if I tell him he's in my apartment he might get the wrong idea,_ she thought. "I went to see him at the hospital but when I got there, there were people running around sort of frantically and I overheard that he was gone." _Whew, nice save!_

"Hm," Kakashi said not really believing her. "Do you know where he is now?"

Sora sighed. _He's got me…_ "Well, uh…" _Shoot…_

"He came to see you, didn't he?" Kakashi said. _His feelings for her are so apparent,_ he thought. He hid the jealousy that threatened to rise in his voice.

Sora nodded slightly ashamed of her lie. "He's in my apartment," she whispered.

_Apartment?_ Kakashi thought now unable to hide his jealousy. _He's-wait. Think rationally. A student. Just a student. Now…_ "It's not safe for him to be alone tonight or to be outside for that matter," Kakashi said. He looked around and lowered his voice. "I'm going to have to ask you to allow him and me to spend the night at your place."

Sora looked at Kakashi and nodded. "Of course," she said softly. Then Kakashi grabbed her hand and transported them to her apartment. Sora unlocked the door softly and they both stepped inside. She locked the door.

Kakashi motioned for her to stay extremely quiet as he peeked into her bedroom to see if Sasuke was still there. He was. Kakashi gave a sigh of relief and shut the door again. "Sora, you need to rest," he said coming over to her. "I'll keep watch tonight."

"But, Sensei, you need rest too," she said.

Kakashi smiled. "I'm ok." He motioned for her to sleep on the couch since that was the only other place to sleep besides the floor. "Do you have any extra blankets?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah," Sora said and got two out from her hallway closet. "Are you sure you want to stay up all night. We could switch in the middle."

Kakashi shook his head. "Sleep," he said.

Sora sighed and lied down on the couch covering herself. She tried to stay awake but soon fell asleep from her exhausting day.

Kakashi stood near the window looking out at the moon. _He came to Sora…he came directly here from the hospital. I should've stayed to watch him instead of going off to alert the others…_ He had gone in earlier that day to check on Sasuke and found the ANBU squad members dead and Kabuto holding a knife to Sasuke's throat. They fought in the room but amazingly Kabuto was just as good a fighter as Kakashi. Kabuto had used some sort of corpse curse to revive the dead ANBU members into zombies under his command. While Kakashi fought the corpses, Kabuto had escaped. Then when Kabuto was gone the corpses disintegrated and nothing was left. Kakashi had then gone to alert the hospital and the Hokage immediately but when they returned, Sasuke was gone. _Stupid,_ he told himself. _I knew he would wake up sometime that day but I didn't expect him to run. _

Kakashi glanced over at Sora and sighed. _She's really something,_ he thought. He walked over to the couch and saw that she was in a deep sleep. He let his hand stroke her cheek softly. _I've never felt like this before towards anyone. I promised myself a long time ago that I would never allow myself to care so deeply about anyone...since they all died. But she broke through. My barrier, my mask…it's almost as if they've never existed._ He sat down in front of the couch leaning his back against it. _But I've got to train Sasuke. He's in too much danger with this curse and Orochimaru after him. He must learn the Chidori._ Kakashi knew it was dangerous for such a young person to learn this class S attack but he convinced himself that Sasuke needed it.

A few hours later, the sun rose and Kakashi left the apartment to make his way to his usual morning spot. He knew that no one would try anything during the day when so many of the Konoha ninjas would be up and about.

Sasuke woke up at dawn as well and quickly slipped out of Sora's bed. He softly opened the door expecting Sora to still be asleep. She was. He walked over to the couch and knelt down beside Sora's sleeping figure. He kissed her neck gently as his hand cupped her cheek.

Sora stirred from the touch and her eyes fluttered open. "Mm? Sasuke?" she said drowsily.

Sasuke smiled and kissed her forehead. "I'm going soon," he said.

Sora's expression changed to a frown. "I still think it's a bad idea."

Sasuke smirked. "Of course you do," he said. "Because when I come back I'll be so much stronger!"

Sora's eyebrow twitched. "Don't get cocky," she grumbled and turned so that her back was facing Sasuke.

Sasuke brushed some of Sora's hair aside and placed a light kiss on the back of her neck before getting up. "See you later," he said.

Sora shivered slightly in response to the kiss but she refused to answer. _Why is he so stubborn? Why is Kakashi-sensei so stu-Kakashi-sensei! _She shot up surprising Sasuke.

"Sora!"

She looked around the room looking for her white-haired sensei. _He's not here?_ she thought.

"Sora?" Sasuke stared at her strangely. _Did I do something?_

She turned her wide-eyed gaze to Sasuke and then shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Uh, sorry," she said. _Better not tell him,_ she thought. "Just, uh, be careful."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

Sora looked down and turned slightly red. "It's just…" Her voice faltered.

Sasuke knew what she was thinking and felt a pang of guilt. "Whatever happened in the forest…I won't let this thing take over me again." Sora didn't look up. Sasuke opened the window. "I promise." He took off.

Sora shut her eyes tightly hoping that he didn't just leave. She didn't know why she cared so much but the look in Sasuke's eyes when the mark spread over his body was unforgettable. She opened her eyes and saw the curtains flapping in the morning breeze. He was gone. Sora sighed and got off the couch. "There's nothing to be done," she said to herself. "He's got his own life and you've got yours." She quickly washed and ate breakfast. _Now I've got to either find someone to train me or just train myself,_ she thought. Then Ebisu and Jiraiya entered her thoughts. She shivered. "I'll stick to training myself," she said but first she decided that she would find Naruto and ask whether he got his sensei or not.

Once Sora was outside, she ran towards Naruto's apartment knowing that he was still most likely asleep. She knocked loudly on his door. "Naruto!" she called. She put her ear up against the door. She heard snoring. "Hello! Naruto!" she called more loudly. She pounded the door. Still the snores came through the door. "Hey, let's go for Ramen!" she said.

A loud crash came through the door and then the scrambling of feet. Then the door swung open revealing a very disheveled but excited Naruto. "RAMEN!" he shouted with glee. "REALLY?"

Sora laughed. "I was just saying that to wake you up," she said.

Naruto looked disappointed. "Aw, I thought you were serious," he grumbled.

"I just came to see if you got your sensei," Sora said with a smile.

Naruto's eyes shot up. "Hehehe, of course I did!" he said. "And he's gonna teach me that summoning technique today! You sure you don't want to train with us?"

Sora thought about it. _He is quite strong,_ she thought. _But he didn't look like his Taijutsu was that impressive and since that's the only thing I can use right now…_

"Please?" Naruto pleaded grabbing her hand.

"I'll come and watch for a while today and see," she finally said.

Naruto brightened up a lot. "All right! Just hold on a sec." With that he disappeared and then reappeared a few seconds later completely dressed and washed. "Let's go!"

Sora stared at him with disbelief. "How did you-"

"This is going to be so much fun!" he interrupted and grabbed her hand. The two ran down the street towards the outskirts of the village to meet the new sensei. They arrived at a clearing near a stream. "The old perverted hermit said that we should meet right here," Naruto said looking around.

Sora flinched. _Perverted…why am I here again?_

Then Jiraiya appeared in a puff of smoke. "Fine, I'm here," he said grumpily. Then his eye caught Sora. "OHOHO!" he shouted in glee. "So you couldn't resist my offer, huh?" He leaned down towards her.

Sora had a look of disgust on her face. "No, I just came with Naruto," she said with a frown.

"Oh," Jiraiya said. _Heh, at least this will go better than if just Naruto was here. Yeah, at least I've got an absolutely gorgeous girl I get to watch!_ He smiled to himself.

"Hey, hey Perverted Hermit!" Naruto called waving his arms around. "Let's get this training started. You promised!"

Jiraiya grunted. "Fine, then," he said crossing his arms. "I'll pick up where that other guy left off. Get on the water and let me see how well you can control your Chakra. Both of you!"

Sora's eyes widened. _What?_ she thought. _I didn't come here to train with him!_ "Uh, I-"

"Come on, Sora-chan!" Naruto said grabbing her arm. "Let's show this guy what we can do!"

"Naruto!" It was too late. Naruto ran out on the water taking her with him. Both sunk.

Jiraiya frowned. _Wow, they either really suck or they're mocking me._ "No! That's not the way to do it!" he yelled. The two Genins' heads popped up out of the water.

"Naruto! Baka!" Sora sputtered.

"What the crap?" Naruto coughed out. "I thought I could do this already!"

Sora glared at Naruto and swam for shore.

"I didn't even _see_ let alone _feel_ you concentrating at all! Conjuring Chakra takes concentration! Didn't your other sensei at least say that much?" Jiraiya said exasperated. _Maybe this kid isn't as good as I thought he was. And what's with this girl? I don't sense any Chakra in her at all. That's not possible for her to have passed the first two stages of the Chuunin exam without Chakra._ He walked over to Sora who was drying out her hair. "Where's your Chakra?"

Sora paused. "Uh, I," she stuttered. _Crap, I didn't want to say it in front of Naruto._

"All right then, concentrate!" Naruto said to himself. He wasn't paying any attention to the other two. He ran out on the water and sunk again.

_So he's not faking it,_ Jiraiya thought as he sweat-dropped.

_Should I trust him? _Sora thought nervously afraid to look away. _He is a pervert, but then again so is Kakashi-sensei._

"Well?"

Sora swallowed hard. "I was born that way," she lied while trying to look him straight in the eye.

Jiraiya didn't believe her but decided against arguing. "Hm."

Sora looked towards Naruto who was getting slightly better at standing on the water. "I really should go now though," she said quickly. She called Naruto. "Hey, uh, I should really start training now so I think I'm gonna go, ok?"

Naruto sunk then sputtered up from under the water. "What? So soon?" he asked swimming to shore.

Sora nodded and looked at Naruto trying to send the message that she was still uncomfortable around the white haired pervert.

Amazingly, Naruto caught on. "Ok but wanna meet for dinner?" he asked trying to send her the message that they needed to talk.

Sora knew he wouldn't drop it. "Yeah, sure," she said with hidden reluctance. "At 7?"

Naruto nodded. "Ok, see ya then."

Sora walked towards the village.

Jiraiya watched her go. _It seems I must finally go back to Konoha to see him again,_ he thought with a sigh. _Something doesn't feel right about this girl._

"Hey, hey, Perverted Hermit!" Naruto shouted. He was standing shakily on the water but standing nonetheless. "I'm doing it!" He began getting confident and started dancing on the water. "Wha-WHOA!" Splash.

Jiraiya rolled his eyes at Naruto's overconfidence. "We've got a ways to go…" he muttered. _Why did I ever agree to this?_ he asked himself knowing the answer.

Once she was out of sight, Sora began running towards the village. _Crap, crap, crap!_ she thought. _What if he asks Naruto about me? What if Naruto tells him that I could use Chakra before? What if Naruto gets suspicious? Wait, he's already suspicious. Stupid, stupid, stupid! _She stopped running and caught her breath. "Why does this have to be so difficult?" she asked in frustration.

After a while of trying to calm down, she began thinking clearly again. _Ok, ok. So this Jiraiya guy is obviously not a current official Jounin of Konoha because he didn't seem to have a forehead protector but he must have been before. Dammit, I don't have my Chakra so I can't sense his Chakra strength…_ She clenched her fist. "Fine then, if I can't use it then I'll just have to make up for it!" She began stretching her muscles out for her intended rigorous training. "500 laps around the village then my usual warm-ups. Target practice is essential. Strength training, body energy, and mental concentration," she said out loud checking them off. "Ok, start!" She took off at an amazing speed for the 500 laps.

After hours of running, throwing, and breaking through trees and stones, Sora was pretty spent. She stopped for the first time for a slight breather. It was already the afternoon and she hadn't eaten. She ran home and ate a small lunch then continued with her training. 3235 kunais, 2342 shurikens, and 28 trees later, Sora's hands were raw and worn with new cuts and scratches. She threw her last shuriken into a tree missing her intended spot on the tree by a millimeter. She was exhausted. "God," she panted as she leaned against a tree.

The sun was setting and it was almost 7. She sighed. "Everything's so hard now," she said to herself. Shadowed clouds floated peacefully in the sky towards the horizon. She smiled and wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. _Just 19 more days of this and I'll be fighting for my Chuunin title,_ she thought. The sunset was rewarding after her long day of training.

Reluctantly she got up and made her way to her apartment. She washed quickly and went to the ramen stand where she knew Naruto would be waiting for her. Sure enough Naruto was there but surprisingly he wasn't snarfing down a bowl of ramen. In fact he wasn't even eating.

"Sora-chan!" he said once he saw her.

"What? You're here and you're not eating?" Sora said sarcastically shocked. "The world is going to end!"

Naruto frowned. "Sora-chan, you know why I wanted to see you," he said seriously.

Sora sighed and looked down taking a seat next to Naruto. "Yeah," she said softly.

"What's going on with you?" Naruto asked in a concerned voice. "I realized that you didn't use any Chakra while we were in the forest and then you couldn't walk on the water today. I remember you could do that tree exercise so easily! What's happened?"

"Naruto, you dragged me into the water," Sora said defiantly trying to make an excuse. "I was surprised. I couldn't focus that quickly!"

Naruto didn't buy it. "Yes you can! I've seen you do it!" he said. "What are you hiding? There's something you're not telling me!" He looked at Sora with concern in his eyes.

Sora looked down and instinctively started playing with the napkin on the table. "There's nothing wrong," she said trying to keep her voice steady.

Naruto grabbed her hand making her drop the napkin. "Sora," he said even more worried. She tried to turn her head but he stopped her head by laying his other hand on her cheek. "You've always been there for me," he said slowly. "You're probably the first girl to ever talk to me nicely. I used to think that no one cared about me but then people like you and Kakashi-sensei and even Sasuke came up and…I feel like I belong somewhere. Sora, you're important to me."

Sora couldn't say anything. She felt horrible inside. Horrible for keeping secrets from everyone when she hated the fact that secrets were always kept from her. Horrible for rejecting people who care about her. Horrible for being who she was. "Naruto-kun," she said barely above a whisper. "Can we go somewhere more private?"

Naruto nodded and the two left the ramen stand. They went to the gardens where they had had their first date. Only a few rays of light were left in the evening sky.

Sora took a deep breath. "I don't want you to pity me," she began.

Naruto cocked an eyebrow at her but said nothing.

"The night before the start of the Chuunin exam, the Hokage wanted me to meet him and he told me that I couldn't keep my Chakra."

"What?"

Sora nodded. "He said that it was dangerous and that I couldn't control more than 3 percent of it." She clenched her fist. "I bet he thinks I'm too weak to handle my own powers."

Naruto was shocked. _No way,_ he thought. _Then all I've seen of her Chakra was only 3 percent? _

"Then he took me to this strange lake and sealed my Chakra," she said shuddering at the memory. "It…it felt like I was dying." She couldn't control her tears as they fell down her cheeks.

Naruto lifted his hand and gently wiped them away. "So that's what happened," he said. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Sora looked at him through bleary vision. "I guess I didn't want you to know because I thought it would make me look weak…"

"No," he said quickly. "Then you are absolutely amazing! I mean, it's definitely not good for you to have your Chakra sealed away but if you passed the first two parts of the exam without Chakra at all…" He shook his head in amazement. "You're even stronger than I thought!" He smiled childishly.

Sora laughed bitterly. "Yeah, right," she said.

"Yeah," Naruto insisted. He made her look into his eyes. "Don't cry."

Sora couldn't help but cry. She felt his arms surround her shaking body. She felt the warmth wash over her trembling frame and she could do nothing else but lean her head against his shoulder and cry. "I'm sorry, Naruto-kun," she choked out. "I'm so sorry…"

Naruto stroked her hair gently and pushed her back so he could lean his forehead on hers. "Don't worry about it," he said.

Sora was shocked at his forwardness but didn't resist. They moved closer together and their lips met.

It was a very innocent kiss with nothing but love from Naruto's heart. He wanted to make it last longer but reluctantly ended it. He closed his eyes and ran his hands up and down her arms with his forehead still against hers. _I'm falling more in love with her,_ he thought. He leaned in for another kiss but Sora suddenly moved back.

She shook her head and looked down. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"No, it's ok," Naruto said standing straight again. He kept his arms around Sora but distanced their faces to a more comfortable range. "I'm sorry if I was too-"

"It's fine," Sora interrupted. "It's just I'm…not ready…to…"

Naruto nodded. "I understand," he said. _If I really love her, I can wait,_ he told himself. "Uh, do you want to eat somewhere?"

Sora silently thanked Naruto for his understanding and nodded forcing a smile. They walked back to the ramen place and sat down to a comfortable meal. Neither of them said anything more about what happened in the garden and soon they were able to have a decently normal conversation full of Naruto's adventures of training with the perverted hermit. Sora was back to normal and laughing.

When they were ready to leave, Naruto insisted on paying the bill no matter how much Sora tried to. "I'm the guy right?" Naruto said with a smirk. "It's not right for the lady to pay."

"Naruto, you're such a kid," she said laughing. "Fine, but next time I treat you."

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto said paying. "Do you want me to walk you home?"

Sora shook her head. "No, it's ok," she said. "You live in the opposite direction and plus it's pretty bright tonight. I'll be fine."

"It's still dangerous for a girl to be walking alone at night," he said.

"Really, Naruto-kun, don't worry," she said with a smile. "Good luck with your training tomorrow." With that she waved goodbye and started down the street.

"Yeah, you too!" he called after her then turned the other way towards his apartment. He sighed to himself. _I kissed her,_ he thought. _I kissed her! _

Sora decided to take a small detour to her apartment to enjoy the night sky. It was not a big moon but it was still amazingly bright. She walked through the empty streets towards the main office building in the village. _Naruto-kun,_ she thought. _He's different…Maybe more mature?_ She smiled at her own thinking. _Nah._

The next day after washing and eating, Sora went to the open field where her team usually trained when they were together. She started her training right away with stretches and balancing poses. "All right," she said to herself. "Today _will_ be a normal day." She rubbed her hands together with determination. "Just concentrate and train." She ran her laps, did her warm-ups, and finished a course she had made for herself. It was noon and nothing out of the ordinary had happened so far. In fact, she hadn't seen another person the entire day. A smile crept across her face as she wiped some sweat from her forehead. "Heh, this calls for a nice meal!" she said happily. She ran home and rinsed off to make herself look more presentable then she walked through the streets of Konoha looking for a nice restaurant to eat at. She saw a Hot-Pot restaurant and decided to go in. Once she ordered, she looked around waiting for the food to come. The bell on the door rung and in walked Chouji, Asuma, and Shikamaru.

Shikamaru spotted Sora's red hair and immediately recognized her. "Sora!" he called in surprise and walked over to her table.

"Shika-kun!" Sora said smiling signaling for him and his group to have a seat.

"Fancy seeing you here," he said taking a seat next to her as Asuma and Chouji sat on the other side.

"Hello there, Sora," Asuma said still smoking his cigarette. "How's the training going?"

"Great!" she said truthfully. Her day had been too good for anything to turn it bad. "And how's this lazybum coming along?" She grinned at a scowling Shikamaru.

Asuma laughed. "Well, Chouji and I have been shaping him up, hopefully." He grinned. "All he wants to do though is play his little chess game and stare at the sky."

"Chess?" Sora asked. "I didn't know you played chess."

Shikamaru grunted. "It's just a hobby."

The waitress came back over to Sora's table seeing that there were more people there. "Hello! Are you three gentlemen ready to order?"

Chouji immediately perked up. "I'll have two of everything you've got!" he said confidently.

Sora's eyes widened. "Are you sure-"

"Don't worry about Chouji," Shikamaru said lazily. "He usually eats more than that but Asuma-sensei's got him on some sort of diet."

"Diet?"

Asuma chuckled. "Well, this is a great improvement from the last time we were here."

Chouji smiled in triumph. "See Sensei? I can control myself!" Asuma patted his head. Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

Once the food came, Chouji dropped out of the conversation and began chomping down the food more quickly than Naruto snarfs down his Ramen. Sora soon got used to it and was able to converse somewhat normally with the other two. An hour later, Chouji was finally full.

"AHH!" he said with satisfaction. "That was a good meal!"

Shikamaru smirked. "Let's just hope we don't have to take you to the hospital again for eating too much."

Chouji frowned. "Are you saying I'm fat?"

"No!" Shikamaru said with a sheepish grin. "Of course not!"

"Being big boned is a blessing, you know?" Chouji said crossing his arms and nodding his head. "Being too skinny isn't healthy."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. He knew he was on the skinny side for a guy but he shrugged it off. After a few more minutes of light chatter, the group decided to split up. Asuma said that he needed to see the Hokage about some mission he was going to go on in a few days and Chouji had indeed eaten too fast for his own good and wanted to go home and sleep. _Finally,_ Shikamaru thought as he and Sora waved goodbye to his sensei and teammate.

Sora leaned back in the cushioned booth seat. "Ah, this was really nice," she said more to herself than to Shikamaru. _No one bothered me during training and now this lunch turned out to be a real treat._

Shikamaru smiled at the girl next to him. "Yeah, we were lucky to bump into you here for lunch."

Sora nodded in agreement and gave a satisfied sigh. Closing her eyes, she leaned her head back against the seat.

_How should I start this?_ Shikamaru thought glancing sideways at Sora. He sighed. _I guess there's no better way to do it than to just bring it up._ "Hey, Sora?" he said in his most casual voice.

"Hm?"

"Uh, I just wanted to check up on how you're holding up and all. From your injuries I mean," he stammered.

Sora opened her eyes to give him a questioning glance. "I guess I'm all right. It does seem a bit strange that I could recover so quickly though. The nurse told me that I wasn't supposed to wake up until the end of this week."

"Really?" Shikamaru asked in surprise. _She seems to have some incredible healing powers or something,_ he thought. "That's interesting."

"Yeah," Sora said sitting up. "But I'm glad that I'm well enough to get back to training so soon." She looked out the window then sighed.

Shikamaru tried to think of a better way to ease into what he really wanted to check up on but then Sora spoke again.

"Um, how's Ino doing?" she asked quietly looking down.

"Huh? Ino?" Shikamaru said in surprise. He didn't think that Sora would care to ask since Ino had been such a jerk to her. "She's, well...she's holding up I suppose."

Sora looked up at him. "Have you seen her lately?"

"Yeah. As a matter of fact, I saw her yesterday. Both Asuma-sensei and I thought it would be best to visit her since we haven't seen her for a few days. Her mom let us in. She was a lot quieter than usual and more jumpy, but other than that she was pretty normal," Shikamaru said. Then he smirked. "Actually, her quietness made her better than usual."

Sora smiled weakly. "I should go and apologize to her or something."

"Apologize for what?"

"I..." Sora trailed off. "It's just that, the look in her eyes at the end of our battle. She must have seen something that made her fear so, so tangible. I could feel it just by looking at her."

"It's not your fault though," Shikamaru said matter-of-factly. "You didn't consciously do anything to her. You couldn't have. Ino's technique is a complete mind transfer." He gingerly put a hand on Sora's shoulder. Sora looked into his eyes. He smiled. "Hey, let's go for a walk. You know, digest a little?"

Sora gave a small smile and nodded. They each paid for their own meal and then the two Genins left the restaurant. It was pretty busy in the streets that day with people bustling to get to where they needed go and venders selling their merchandise to tourists. The sun was out and the weather was warm since spring was in full bloom. They walked in a comfortable silence for a while listening to the busy streets and people talking. Then finally Shikamaru mustered up the courage to speak his mind. "Look, Sora," he said carefully. "I don't want you to feel like I'm pestering you or anything, but I have to know."

Sora looked at him and signaled for him to continue.

"What did Gaara really do to you in that room?" he said stopping to look at her.

Sora stopped. Her eyes widened a little but she kept her gaze forward and didn't respond.

Shikamaru gently grabbed her wrist. "I'm just worried, that's all. When I saw you come out from behind that guy, your eyes told me that something went wrong. He made a move on you, didn't he?"

Sora kept her gaze forward avoiding Shikamaru's searching eyes. She swallowed.

Shikamaru turned her towards him and placed his hands on her arms. "I'm sorry," he said sighing. "I shouldn't have brought it up."

"No," Sora said quickly surprising Shikamaru. _I've got to stop hiding things from people. I need to stop pushing those who care about me away. _"Thank you, for caring about me." She blinked slowly and shook her head. "The truth is, I was so scared that day. If you and Naruto hadn't come, I don't know what he might've done..." She shivered remembering his cold stare.

Shikamaru didn't know what else to do but to pull her into a small embrace. "It's ok," he said softly stroking her back. _If he ever bothers you again, I'll protect you,_ he thought._ Whoa, where'd that come from?__I'm being brave? _He held Sora closer. _Well, if it's for her, then I can go through with it._ He smiled._ She seems to bring out the good side of me. _

Sora pulled back slightly. "Thanks," she said softly.

Shikamaru nodded. "Hey, the day's still young," he said. "Don't be sad." He touched her cheek.

"Yeah, we should get back to training then," she said smiling.

"Oh yeah, come to think of it, Asuma-sensei expects me back at the tower soon," Shikamaru said glancing up at the sky. "This training thing is so troublesome."

_Well, there's the old Shikamaru again,_ Sora thought with an inward smile.

"Sometimes I just wish I could lie back and stare at the clouds all day," he said with a small sigh. "But instead I've got this Chuunin exam hanging over my head. We all do."

Sora laughed. "Hey, maybe sometime I could join you in your cloud gazing. It sounds relaxing."

Shikamaru smiled in surprise. "Sure thing."

The two parted ways and Shikamaru made his way over to the tower while Sora went back to her solitary field for more training. _Maybe being laid back isn't a such a bad thing after all,_ Sora thought with a smile._ I'm too uptight about everything it seems. _Her smile faded._ I envy you, Shika-kun. If my life weren't such a big mess, I would've liked to see the world the way you see it. _She paused and looked up at the clouds in the sky and her expression hardened. _But the fact is, I am a mess. That's why I can't do the things I enjoy. That's why I can't stop being so overly cautious about everything. That's why I have to push myself to the limit, to make up for my weaknesses. _She clenched her fists and looked around at the empty field more determined than ever to get stronger for the Chuunin exam.


	7. Part VII: The Final Matches

Part VII: The Final Matches

The days turned into weeks and then finally the day of the final matches arrived. Sora had trained every day without fail in her Taijutsu and regular non-Chakra techniques. Her body energy had increased tremendously and she was almost as used to using it as her Chakra even though she was still unable to sense other people's Chakra. She entered the stadium with confidence but also nervousness. She had only seen Neji, Naruto, and Shikamaru a few times throughout the rest of the training period and didn't know how strong the other finalists were.

Everyday she had made time to visit Lee and Hinata in the hospital. Hinata had gotten much better and was able to leave the hospital for the day to see the matches but Lee was still in a critical condition.

Sora looked around to see the other finalists. Neji, Shino, and the three Sand Genins were already there. Sora avoided Gaara's gaze as she went over to Neji. "Hey, Neji-kun," she said softly.

Neji turned his head towards her. "How're you feeling?" he asked.

"Ok, I guess," she said. "Considering…"

Neji nodded. Then the doors opened again and Shikamaru and Naruto entered together looking scared and like they had just run a few miles at top speed. They stumbled in quickly and landed near Sora and Neji.

"What happened to you two?" Sora asked kneeling down to help them up.

"Well, smartass here decided to try and ride one of the rich guys' bulls here and ended up having an entire herd after him. I unfortunately was on my way here coming from the same direction so I got caught in the stampede," Shikamaru explained glaring at Naruto.

Naruto laughed sheepishly. "Well, I thought I'd be late and it looked like a good idea. I mean, to not waste Chakra and all by teleporting and stuff…" he trailed off.

Sora laughed, Shikamaru frowned, Neji kept silent and emotionless. Then the loudspeaker rang through the air. "Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats quickly. It's almost time to begin."

Sora looked around at the thousands of people gathered in the humongous open aired stadium. Almost all of the Konoha villagers were there along with the many feudal lords and businessmen from foreign countries sitting in the specialized section. Up in the special booth for the Hokage, there was he whom the booth was named for, the Kazekage from the hidden village of the Sand, and multiple Jounin body guards.

A Jounin named Gemma appeared in the arena and signaled for all of the Genins to line up in their numerical order.

_Huh? Where's that sick guy?_ Naruto thought. Then as everyone filed in line, they noticed that Sasuke and Dosu were also missing.

_Sasuke's missing?_ Sora thought in alarm. _He wouldn't be late to something like this! And then Dosu's also gone…he's my opponent._ She looked at Gemma waiting for him to do something.

"Hm," Gemma said, "well, it's time to start and it seems Uchiha Sasuke is not present yet." He signaled to the Hokage booth.

Sora was confused that he didn't mention Dosu. "Uh, what about Dosu?" she asked.

Gemma turned his gaze to Sora. "He is not able to compete," he said shortly.

"Huh?" Sora said cocking an eyebrow. _What does that mean?_ Then she felt someone's gaze set intently on her. She let her eyes wander slowly reaching the red-haired Sand Genin. Something in his eyes told her that he had something to do with Dosu's and Hayate's disappearances. _What did he do?_ she thought and quickly looked away.

A messenger from the Hokage's booth appeared and whispered something in Gemma's ear. He nodded and the messenger disappeared. "Ok, well, the decision is that if the Uchiha cannot make it by the time his appointed match begins, he will be automatically disqualified."

Both Sora and Naruto started. _Disqualified?_ Sora thought.

_DISQUALIFIED?_ Naruto thought. _He can't be disqualified! I'm the one who's got to beat him! Come on Sasuke, you idiot! I can't believe you'd be late for this!_

Gemma then signaled to the announcer's box and the announcer began talking away informing the audience of the conditions of the matches and about Sasuke's tardiness. Then Gemma, ignoring the loudspeaker, addressed the Genins. "All right," he said. "I'm Gemma-sensei, your final Chuunin match examiner. These battles will be similar to the preliminaries in that there are no rules except my word. There are a series of judges in the audience who will decide whether or not one can become a Chuunin so there is the possibility of everyone becoming Chuunins and no one. Do your best and don't hold back." With that he signaled for Naruto and Neji to step forward. "The rest of you go up to the balcony up there." He pointed to a small opening in the arena wall below where the audience's seats began. They began filing out.

Sora looked back at both Neji and Naruto. She sighed. _Great, I forgot they were against each other, _she thought. _I mean they've never really talked before so maybe they won't care that they're fighting each other but I do…_ She turned away and exited the arena following the others up the stairs to the balcony. She caught up with Shikamaru and stayed close making sure that Gaara was as far away as possible.

Shikamaru noticed her agitation and knew that she was worried about Gaara. Instinctively he grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer. "Don't look at him," he muttered under his breath. Sora was surprised at his actions but nodded her head.

The group of Genins made their way up the stairs and out onto the balcony. The announcer overhead was jabbering away about the matches while Naruto and Neji were looking each other over. Gemma was saying something to them but the Genins in the balcony couldn't hear over the noise of the crowd and the loudspeaker. Then both Naruto and Neji nodded their heads and Gemma made a signal to the announcer.

"BEGIN!"

The crowd went wild with cheers as Naruto immediately ran at Neji. "KAGE BUUSHIN NO JUTSU!" Naruto shouted. Four Narutos appeared.

Neji didn't flinch or even blink for that matter. "Byakugan," he said calmly. Veins appeared around his eyes and he could see the Chakra skeletal structures of the four clones. He easily picked out the real Naruto. Just as the four Narutos powered up for a punch, Neji skillfully leaped forward aiming a powerful kick right at the real Naruto.

"Huh?" Naruto said as he saw Neji come straight for him, ignoring his clones. _How does he know?_ There was no time to dodge. Neji's foot came crashing into his face and he was thrown backwards. His clones disappeared in poofs of smoke from his shock. He crashed into the ground. "What the crap?"

"Clones don't work on me," Neji said coolly landing with ease. He walked towards Naruto who shakily stood up.

_It's his damned eyes,_ Naruto thought. _He can see the Chakra distribution._

Neji read his mind and smiled disdainfully. "There's no way you can win," he said bluntly. "I researched your records at the academy and I know about your weaknesses. You only passed the academy exam because Iruka-sensei felt sorry for you."

That hit a nerve. "Shut up!" Naruto spat. He ran at Neji again without thinking. "AHH!" he shouted as he drew back his fist.

Neji easily blocked the attack with a burst of Chakra from his body sending Naruto backwards again. "There's no point in fighting me when you're only going to lose," he said calmly.

Naruto staggered up again. _What the hell was that?_

"That was my Hakkeshou Kaiten (Divination Whirl)," Neji answered reading his mind. "It's my clan's ultimate defense move."

_Hakkeshou Kaiten?_ Sora thought. _I've read about that before. Neji can do that?_ She was definitely impressed since normally controlling the amount of chakra released from the chakra holes is difficult and even a Jounin can usually only release a small amount from his hands and feet for a special move. This move involved releasing Chakra from one's entire body, through all of the Chakra holes.

"Impressive," Shikamaru said. He had also read about the attack. "There's no way Naruto can get Neji if he keeps doing his stupid Kage Buushin."

Sora nodded in agreement. "I didn't know Neji could do such a technique."

"I heard he learned it on his own," Shikamaru said. "He wasn't able to get specific training from the Hyuuga family head since he's in the branch family so I guess he's just been teaching himself all of his moves that have to do with his Byakugan."

"Really?" Sora said even more amazed. _If Neji was able to do that, then maybe Naruto really doesn't stand a chance against him. _She felt a pang of guilt from her lack of confidence in her teammate.

"KAGE BUUSHIN NO JUTSU!" Naruto yelled again. This time he distributed his Chakra evenly within his clones making it hard for Neji to see which one was real. 20 Narutos leaped at Neji from all sides.

"That idiot!" Sora said in frustration. "He's not thinking!"

Shikamaru sighed. "Well, I don't think that's his strong point."

Neji saw Naruto's strategy. _Hm, he's getting smarter, but it's no use._ He decided not to waste Chakra and began to fight off each clone in succession with strictly Taijutsu moves. Three came from behind but Neji sensed their movements and did a spinning kick and hit one of them into the other two. Then he flipped himself up in the air and grabbed the wrists of the Narutos attacking from above. He swung them around and threw them across the arena. He landed behind a Naruto taking him by surprise and used him as a temporary shield against another Naruto's attack. The Naruto clones were quickly disappearing in clouds of smoke as Neji continued to gracefully defeat them.

Then Neji spotted one clone who wasn't fighting particularly hard. _That must be him,_ he thought. He dodged another attack and ran towards the Naruto he thought was real. He released a wave of Chakra at the Naruto hitting him head on but then Naruto's laughter came from behind him. "What?"

"Ha!" Naruto laughed with his arms crossed. All of his clones had disappeared but he didn't seem to care. "You thought that was the real me, huh?"

Neji turned to face Naruto, his eyes narrowing in anger.

"I was just checking to make sure you weren't holding back, ya know? Like you did with Hinata-chan!" Naruto narrowed his own eyes. "I'm not so dumb as to assume you couldn't fight off some clones. I just want you to fight with everything you've got. Don't insult me like you did her."

"What fate has brought is not my decision," Neji said with a dark tone.

Naruto laughed. "What fate?"

"She should've given up before the match began."

Naruto frowned. "You have no right to dictate what people should or shouldn't do! She did her best and that's what mattered, you bastard!" Naruto ran at Neji again.

"You don't know anything," Neji said preparing his next attack. "Hakke Rokujuuyonshou (Divination Field)!" He drew back a hand and formed a seal with the other awaiting Naruto.

In the crowd, Hinata's father, Hiashi was looking at Neji with surprise. His younger daughter, Hanabi was sitting next to him. "What's wrong, Father?" she asked.

"Is he going to use that?" he said to himself ignoring his daughter. _I knew his inheritance of the Byakugan was incredible, but he couldn't have taught himself that move._

"Two strikes!" Neji shouted as he used his fingers to jab Naruto's chest area twice. Flashes of blue Chakra could be seen from the hits.

Naruto felt an immense concentrated pain in the two areas he had been hit. _What the-?_

"Four strikes!" Neji said and jabbed a staggering Naruto faster than the eye could see.

Naruto cried out in pain and couldn't retaliate.

"Eight strikes!" Neji continued hitting Naruto over and over again in different places across his body. "Sixteen strikes! Thirty-two strikes! Sixty-four strikes!" At his last strike, Neji hit Naruto hard.

Naruto flew backwards in pain. He landed roughly on his back unable to stop himself from falling. He was temporarily paralyzed. _What…what happened?_

_So a branch family member is going to surpass the head family,_ Hiashi thought. _Maybe Hizashi should've become the head instead of me. Neji's technique surpasses Hinata's, Hanabi's and with time, even mine._

Neji stood straight again taking a deep breath. "I hit all 64 tenketsus on your body now. Your Chakra is completely sealed. You cannot stand, let alone use your techniques anymore."

Naruto tried to move but couldn't. _Dammit…_

Gemma walked up to the two. "Hm, well it looks like this is over."

_Dammit, dammit, dammit!_ Naruto thought. _MOVE, DAMMIT!_ Then amazingly he was able to get off his back and onto his hands and knees. He was panting from the movement.

_Hm, maybe not, _Gemma thought and didn't call the match off.

"Mortifying, isn't it?" Neji said with an unnatural twisted smile on his face. "You're on your knees against a power you cannot face finding out how truly powerless you are."

Naruto shook with pain, exhaustion, and anger. _No, I've got to get through this. My dream…my goal…to become Hokage. I can't quit now! _

Neji laughed reading his mind. "Hokage? You?" He closed his eyes. "You will never be able to amount to anything. That was decided the minute you were born. Only a few people were destined to become strong, to be able to achieve the title of Hokage. They were chosen by fate! Hard work? Perseverance? They mean nothing against the power of destiny!"

Naruto clenched his fist on the ground. _Dammit…_ Images flooded his mind. Of Lee and his fight with Gaara. Of Hinata and her fight with Neji. Of his teammates. _Sasuke…he's always looked down on me, just like him! _

Sora tensed as she watched Naruto struggling to get up. She hadn't seen Hinata's and Neji's fight but she got the impression that it wasn't a good one. _Neji's too wrapped up in destiny, in fate. Like Sasuke… _She clenched the railing. "Come on, Naruto," she whispered softly.

Shikamaru heard her and looked at her in surprise. _Does she actually think Naruto can win?_

_Sora,_ Naruto thought. _You've struggled so much without your Chakra. You didn't quit. You didn't give up the chance of going into the Chuunin exam when you had the choice to. No, you went through with it and now…you're here…watching me. I can't lose!_ He struggled slowly to his feet.

Neji had read his mind and immediately stopped smiling at the mention of Sora's name. Then his eyes widened when Naruto was able to stand up. _Impossible…_

_All right, come on Naruto! _Sora thought with excitement as he stood up. _He can win this._

"You should quit now," Neji said quickly. "It will only get worse for you if you continue. I don't want to kill you. I have no grudge against you."

"Shut up," Naruto spat. "Even if you don't, I have one against you. You hurt Hinata and insulted her when she was doing her best. Why? Why, when you're so strong, do you have to bite down on other people's weaknesses like you know everything there is to know about them?"

"That doesn't concern you," Neji said coldly.

"Yes, it does!" Naruto interrupted. "You called her a drop out and now you'll deal with me!"

Neji narrowed his eyes in disdain. He was beginning to lose his temper. "Fine, then. I'll tell you why," Neji finally said. "I'll tell you the Hyuuga's fate of hatred!" His eyes burned with passion as he moved his hands up to untie his forehead protector. "The Hyuuga family has a secret ninja technique that is passed down in the head family, the cursed seal technique." He removed the protector revealing his forehead. There was a green "X" on his forehead. "It symbolizes a caged bird, those bound with an inescapable destiny!"

Naruto looked at it. "A seal…?"

"I was four when they gave this to me. When they sealed me along with my fate. It is a protection to the head family making absolute assurance that the full potential of the Byakugan is passed down in the head family alone. The seal destroys the brain of its victim, and needless to say, death is easily given to those of the branch family that choose to disobey."

"But why separate your clan?" Naruto asked.

"The Byakugan is one of the most complicated Blood Line Limits. Its secrets are sought after by many people. The seal narrows down the amount of people with its full potential so that the secret is not found out by outsiders. The branch family lives to protect the head family, to protect the secret of the Byakugan. At the same time, the seal limits the Byakugan's power in a branch family member so that even if they are killed by an outsider, its secrets will be sealed up forever." Neji's mind was on a rampage now. He was mad at his seal, he was mad at his uncle. "For that reason, they killed my father!"

Naruto was taken aback. "What?"

"They sent him to die in the place of Hiashi-sama when Hinata was kidnapped. They were twins…with almost the same strength, but when they were born first and second, their fates were sealed." Neji gripped his forehead protector. "And yours was decided when I became your opponent!" He tied his forehead protector back on covering his cursed seal.

"You're wrong," Naruto said softly but strongly. "You can't predetermine the outcome of the match. Fate's not set in stone. It can't be!"

Neji's nerve broke. "Fine!" He ran at Naruto. "Byakugan!" His eye area became covered in veins as his Chakra level increased dramatically.

Naruto couldn't move or dodge. The effect of the Hakke Rokujuuyonshou was still too strong. Neji's hand came crashing into Naruto's chest and Neji let some of his Chakra out to strengthen his attack. Naruto went flying backwards as blood was forced up out of his mouth. He tumbled to the ground unable to slow himself.

"Examiner," Neji said coolly. "It's over." He turned his back to Naruto. "Dropout," he muttered.

Naruto was still conscious. He had heard Neji call him a dropout. _I won't lose to a guy like him! _He forced himself to his feet. "Don't run away, you coward!" he spat.

Neji stopped and turned back around.

"I'm not running away!" Naruto continued.

"You fool!" Neji shouted beginning to lose his cool. "Stop trying to fight your fate!"

"Heh," Naruto said spitting out some blood. "You keep talking about fate and all that crap, but really we're not so different after all."

"What are you talking about?"

"When you were fighting Hinata, you were trying to fight fate, weren't you? That's why you hurt her so much! You wanted to change fate, the thing you're supposedly fighting for right now."

"You know nothing," Neji sneered narrowing his eyes again. "All of your tenketsus are sealed. You can't use your Chakra. What makes you think you can win?"

"Stop acting like you know everything cause you don't!" Naruto shouted.

"Then show me," Neji said dangerously.

Naruto closed his eyes and concentrated. _That perverted hermit told me I had two kinds of Chakra. I need the Fox's power now!_

Sora felt something wasn't right. _What's that? _she thought fearfully. _Naruto's trying to get his Chakra out? But I can feel it…I shouldn't be able to feel it. _

_Damn Fox, lend me you power!_ Naruto screamed inside.

Neji laughed. "You can't use your Chakra," he mocked. "It's useless. Why do you fight it so hard?"

"Because," Naruto opened his eyes, "you called me a dropout!" Then the rocks on the ground around him began to rise. A wind picked up and Neji could see red flames of Chakra surround Naruto.

_Impossible, _he thought with rising fear. _Chakra is leaking out of his body. I closed the tenketsus! What's going on?_

Sora began trembling. _It's the Fox demon's power, _she thought. _Did Naruto learned how to use his power from Jiraiya?_

Neji looked into Naruto's Chakra skeletal structure. The Chakra veins filled up with the new red Chakra and flamed out surrounding Naruto. It formed into the shape of the Fox demon's head. _What is that?_ Neji thought in alarm.

Nine lines of Chakra fanned out behind Naruto. "Let's begin!" Naruto growled.

Neji saw the nine Chakra lines wrap around Naruto's body. Then his entire body was glowing with the red fire. _Is that really Chakra? _Neji ran at Naruto not wanting to watch his power level rise anymore but Naruto had disappeared. _Huh?_

"Behind you!" came Naruto's voice. He was in the air holding three shuriken knives. "AHHHH!" he yelled as he released them.

"Hakkeshou Kaiten!" Neji said quickly. He was able to stop the shurikens and catch them. He took out three of his own and then threw them towards the oncoming Naruto.

Naruto dodged with incredible speed.

"What? His speed increased!" Neji said in shock. The 6 shurikens hit the wall of the arena. He turned to see Naruto coming at him with a kunai. He got out his own and the two threw their knives at each other. They hit each other and spun in opposite directions. Both Naruto and Neji ran towards each other and caught their own kunais in mid-air. They clashed with incredible power, causing each of them to be thrown back.

Naruto took the time to power up. He ran at Neji breaking up the ground with each step leaving behind a mess of smoke and debris.

_I've got to do the whirlwind again!_ Neji thought. He powered up his Chakra and spun. The two kunais met, blue against red, with more power than before causing the entire arena to be filled with smoke and debris. No one could see anything.

When the smoke finally cleared, there were two gigantic holes in the ground. "Oh my god," Sora whispered.

Shikamaru had become engrossed in the battle as well. "That was incredible," he said. "What happened to Naruto back there?"

Sora shook her head as if she didn't know. She didn't want to tell Shikamaru, at least not yet.

After a few minutes of silence, an arm came shooting out of one of the holes. It was Neji. He was panting heavily but he managed to climb out.

_Incredible Chakra,_ Gemma thought as he looked at Neji. _Both of them._

Neji staggered over to Naruto's hole and saw his unconscious body lying there. "Sorry, dropout, but this is reality," he said slowly panting the whole time. But then the ground began to shake and Naruto sprung up from underneath Neji fist first. It took Neji by surprise and he had no time to react. Naruto's fist came in contact with Neji's chin and he was thrown upwards hard. He landed roughly on his back. _My body…_ Neji thought. He couldn't move.

Naruto was standing in front of his newly made hole panting just as heavily as Neji was. He had made one last Shadow clone during the explosion to make Neji believe he had won to make him drop his guard. Then he walked up to Neji.

"You made a Shadow replica in that situation? Your favorite technique, huh? I was careless," Neji said shaking from pain and paralysis.

Naruto took in a huge breath to keep himself from panting. "I failed the academy test three times. They always seemed to test the technique I was the worst at." He closed his eyes. "And that was the Kage Buushin."

Neji's eyes widened.

"You're different from me. You're not a dropout so stop blaming everything on fate and move on with your life," Naruto said.

Gemma smiled. _This kid,_ he thought. "Winner, Uzumaki Naruto," he announced.

The crowd went wild. Cheers mixed with boos mixed with gasps of amazement rippled through the audience. The underdog had won.

Sora grabbed onto Shikamaru. "He won! Can you believe it?" she said happily.

"Yeah," a stunned Shikamaru answered. _That guy actually won? How much stronger did he get over the last three weeks?_

Naruto looked up at the crowd. _They're clapping…for me? _It was the first time in his life that people have ever cheered him on for anything. It felt…good. Naruto smiled broadly and gave his trademark peace sign. "YEAH!" he shouted with glee and began running towards the exit of the arena so that he could go up to the other Genins.

_And he's still running around after that?_ Gemma thought to himself. _Geez…_

Naruto ran up the stairs taking them two by two. The tiredness seemed to disappear as he climbed them.

Some of the Medic team had come into the arena to take Neji away. Gemma sighed. "When captured birds grow wiser, they try to open the cage with their beaks. They don't give up because they want to fly again," he said to Neji giving his two cents worth.

Neji looked to the sky and saw a lone flying bird cross the sun. He considered Gemma's words as the Medics took him to the healing room.

Naruto ran into the balcony area and immediately ran to Sora and Shikamaru. "Hey, hey, Sora-chan!" he called happily waving his arms around. "I won!"

Sora smiled while Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Congratulations!" Sora said hugging Naruto.

Naruto blushed. "Hehe," he laughed sheepishly but hugged Sora back.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes again. _I probably can't beat him,_ he thought. _I'm in big trouble now…_

Once Naruto let go, Sora made him sit down. "You've got to be tired after that," she reasoned.

"Oh, come on, Sora-chan. Neji wasn't that hard," Naruto said trying to sound tough though he really was exhausted.

Sora cocked an eyebrow. "You need rest," she said. "I'm going to go see Neji, ok?"

"What?" Naruto complained. "Leave me for him?"

Sora rolled her eyes and left them.

"When'd you get so strong?" Shikamaru asked.

Naruto smiled and closed his eyes leaning back in his chair. "Oh, I've got this incredible new sensei now. I learned a lot from him, even though he is a perverted hermit."

_What? _Shikamaru thought as he sweat-dropped. _Perverted hermit?_

Sora made her way down the stairs and towards the healing room but when she got to the door, the two Medic Nins came out and shut the door. "Oh, sorry Miss, but you can't go in yet," one of the Nins said.

"Is Neji-kun ok?" she asked worried that he was in a serious condition.

"He's fine," the other said. "All he needs is rest, but right now Hyuuga-sama is in there and he wishes to be alone with Neji for a while."

"Oh," Sora said. "Can I wait until they're done?"

The two Nins looked at each other. "I suppose," one said, then they left.

Sora stayed outside waiting. After about 5 minutes, the door opened revealing the head Hyuuga. He glanced at Sora and then left. Sora looked at the retreating figure of Hiashi then slowly entered the room. Neji was standing and looking out the window. An opened scroll was on the bed he had been laying on. "Neji-kun?" she said softly.

Neji turned around. He had a small smile on his face.

Sora was surprised to no end. _What happened?_ "Uh, I just came to check on you, but I'll leave if you-"

"No, please, stay for a while," Neji interrupted. He walked towards her.

Sora came in the room but left the door open. She swallowed before she said anything. "How are you feeling?" she asked quietly.

Neji grabbed her wrist and pulled her over to sit next to him on the bed. "I'm fine. Well, I guess my pride is hurt, but not much more."

Sora smiled weakly but then looked away.

Neji closed his eyes. "I think I'm beginning to understand what you meant when you asked me that question so long ago."

Sora looked at him again with a questioning glance.

"You asked me that if I didn't have my powers, would I still want to become a shinobi. I answered no then but now I think Naruto's changed my mind." He sighed and leaned back on his hands. "My father wrote me a letter before he died," he went on pointing to the open scroll. "He went against destiny, against his fate as a Hyuuga branch family member and chose to die for my uncle not for the head family but for his brother. I guess it doesn't matter if you're a dropout or not." He paused to smile a bit. "But now I'm confused about the whole concept of fate…I don't know what it means anymore."

Sora smiled. "Neji-kun…" She gingerly placed a hand on his arm. "Naruto-kun is right. Fate isn't set in stone. You can change it if you want to and it doesn't matter who you are. The future is constantly changing. No one knows what it holds for any one of us." She took her hand off and blushed. _Although I wish I knew, _she thought forgetting that Neji could read minds. "I should go now," she said quickly and got off the bed. "But hopefully if I'm not knocked out or dead, I'll come back to see you." She started walking towards the door.

Neji quickly got off the bed and stopped her before she could leave. He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and leaned his head against hers closing his eyes. "Please, be careful," he said softly kissing her neck.

Sora was glad Neji was behind her and couldn't see her blushing face. _Neji…_

Neji knew she was blushing. He liked making her feel this way. _I don't want to let you go, _he thought, but he reluctantly did.

Sora gave him one last nervous smile and left the room.

Neji walked back to his bed and lied down. _Father,_ he thought. _I don't know about destiny or fate anymore but I do know this: I've found someone I want to protect…like you did with Hiashi-sama. I swear I will become stronger so that I won't lose to anyone._

Sora quickly ran back up the stairs to the balcony hoping that Sasuke had arrived and was ready to fight. When she arrived at the balcony, she saw Naruto leaning over the railing shouting at the people in the arena.

"HE'S COMING, DAMMIT!" he shouted waving a fist in the air.

"Naruto!" Sora said putting a hand on his shoulder.

Naruto turned around quickly. "They're going to disqualify Sasuke since he's not here and it's his turn!"

"What?" Sora gasped in alarm. _They can't!_

"This is bad," he muttered through gritted teeth.

Then the loudspeaker came on. "The final decision made by the Hokage himself is that we will postpone this match until all the other matches are done then if Uchiha Sasuke has not arrived by then, he will be disqualified."

Boos came rising up from the crowd. They were impatient and wanted to see the match now. Sasuke's and Gaara's fight had been the most anticipated one of the exam since it was a Konoha genius versus a Sand genius.

Both Sora and Naruto gave a sigh of relief. "That was close," Sora said.

Naruto nodded. "I think Kakashi-sensei's rubbing off on him or something," he said.

Sora laughed. "Maybe. But this means that the next match will be Kankuro and Shino."

"Kankuro vs. Aburame Shino!" the loudspeaker blasted out.

Kankuro looked over at his opponent but his expression was not that of his usual cocky self. _Dammit, I didn't expect it to go this far, _he thought. _If I expose some of my moves, it'll make the whole plan more difficult! I've got to let this one pass._ "Hey, uh, Examiner?" he called to Gemma. "I give this one up," he said with a small laugh.

_What?_ Sora thought looking at him. _That's not like him. It's too sudden. Why is he letting this match go? It can't be Shino… _She glanced at him.

Shino's expression was the same as Sora's.

"Hey, lucky break!" Naruto said naïve as usual.

Shino darkened his expression. _Something's up._

Gemma shrugged his shoulders. "Ok then Aburame Shino wins by default."

More boos arose from the crowd. They wanted to see a fight, more specifically, THE fight.

"Then next up is Nara Shikamaru vs. Temari," Gemma said. The loudspeaker said the same.

Temari glared at her teammate and whipped out her enormous fan and rode it down to the ground next to Gemma. She wasn't going to quit this match.

_Dammit,_ Shikamaru thought. He had seen Temari fight. He knew her moves and how powerful her fan was. His nerve had been broken from seeing how strong Naruto had become when he knew he hadn't really improved that much. _Maybe I should quit too. This is all too troublesome…_

"All right, Shikamaru!" Naruto shouted with a huge smile on his face. "Go and kick ass!" He smacked Shikamaru on the back causing him to fall out of the balcony.

"AHHH!" Shikamaru yelled as he fell. He landed in a bush that was under the balcony so he didn't seem to get too hurt from the fall.

"Shikamaru!" Sora called in alarm. "Naruto! You could've really hurt him!"

"Eh-heh," Naruto said sheepishly rubbing his head. "Sorry about that."

Sora rolled her eyes and leaned over the railing so that she could see Shikamaru who hadn't moved from his position on the bush. "Hey, are you ok?"

Shikamaru looked up at her with a frown. "Tell that asshole that he's going to regret doing that really soon."

Sora smiled. _He'll fight,_ she thought.

Boos rose from the crowd. No one seemed to want to see this fight. Shikamaru sighed and got off the bush. _I'm not like Sasuke or Neji, _he thought. _They're all famous and crap. I'm just a nobody. Who wants to see a nobody fight?_

"You can do it, Shika-kun!" Sora called.

_Well, _he thought._ There's one._ He sighed and walked over to where the examiner and Temari stood.

"Are you two ready to begin?" Gemma asked.

Temari nodded her head confidently.

"Yeah, let's just get this over with," Shikamaru said stretching.

Temari cocked an eyebrow. _He's either really egotistical or he doesn't care,_ she thought.

"All right then, begin!"

Temari immediately whipped out her fan and shot a huge gust of wind straight at Shikamaru. Gemma had jumped out of the way but Shikamaru could only cover his face with his arms to block the oncoming dirt. _Geez,_ he thought as he got swept off his feet from the force. He managed to land on his feet but he was up against the wall of the arena. _At least there're trees here, _he thought.

"What're you waiting for?" Temari shouted not getting too close to Shikamaru for fear of an attack.

Shikamaru took in a deep breath. "You know, I don't really care about becoming a Chuunin. Heck, I don't even know why I'm here, but there's one thing I can't do."

"And what's that?"

"Lose to a girl like you," he said simply.

Temari knitted her eyebrows in anger. "What?" she shouted. "You little bastard! You think men are better than women?"

"I never said that," Shikamaru said squatting down still next to his tree and in the safety of the shadow of the arena wall. _Good, the sun is setting and I'm against the west wall. Heh, more shadow for me._

"Grrr…" Temari growled. "Fine! Take this! Ninpou Kamaitachi (Sickling Winds)!" She gave another huge sweep with her fan causing a small tornado to go towards Shikamaru.

Shikamaru took shelter behind the tree. He knew the roots were too deep in the ground for it to be lifted by that attack. _Man, I hope that's one of her stronger attacks, _he thought. _I don't think I can take much more of this, but my shadow won't be long enough_.

"Why don't you attack, coward?" Temari jeered. She couldn't see him but she knew he was there hiding behind the tree. "Are girls that scary?"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. _Geez, not only do I have to fight a girl but a bratty girl at that…_

_Hah, just as I thought,_ Temari thought. Since she had seen his fight earlier with Kin from the Sound, she knew he wanted to lure her over to the shadows created by the trees and she jumped back putting her fan in front of her.

Shikamaru looked up at the sky. _The clouds are nice today, _he thought. _They look so free up in the sky, unlike me down here..._ Then he looked down again. _I have absolutely no motivation. Never had any, probably never will have any…why did I become a ninja again? Oh yeah, I thought I could live a fun life…heh, was I ever wrong. Everything's so troublesome now. _He stood up and came out from behind the tree with a small smile on his face. _But I guess things don't go that easily._

"What's with the stupid smile?" Temari asked herself. Then she narrowed her eyes. "Ninpou Kamaitachi!" she shouted and whipped her fan out in front of her creating another humongous gust of wind. The force was so great that it filled the entire arena with wind for a while and the branches of the trees were beginning to break off. Smoke and debris rose in the air covering Shikamaru from sight. Then a line of shadow came stretching out of the dust. _What?_ Temari jumped back quickly, but the shadow seemed to keep coming. Finally, the shadow started losing speed and stopped. She stopped as well and watched as the shadow began to retreat back to its master. Temari used the end of her fan to mark the ground where the shadow had stopped. "So there is a limit, huh?" she said.

The dust settled revealing Shikamaru with his hands in his Shadow Imitation seal.

"No matter how much you stretch or shrink your shadow, it can only go as far as its surface area, right?" Temari continued. Then to herself she added, "15 meters, 32 centimeters. This is as far as he goes."

"Hey, what does she mean about surface area?" Naruto asked Sora confused as usual.

"Shikamaru's shadow attack can only be stretched as far as the space it occupies, Naruto," Sora explained.

Naruto still looked utterly confused.

_Right, simple terms…_ "If his shadow is bigger, he can stretch it further," Sora said trying again. "I bet he can add on to his shadow by using the trees and the arena wall but there is always a limit. He's better at close range attacking while Temari likes to keep her distance."

"But then he can only attack her if she steps in the zone," Naruto said. "She's not that stupid to do that and her attacks can go much further than his. He's got to do something!"

Sora looked at the arena again surveying the situation. _If he's waiting for the sun to set further to create a larger shadow on the arena wall, it might be too obvious. Come on Shikamaru…_

Shikamaru leaned back against the wall slightly panting from trying to stretch his shadow. He looked up at the sky again. _Think, dammit, think! _He told himself. Then he pointed his hands downward and put his finger tips together forming an O-shape with the thumbs touching each other on top.

_What's that?_ Temari thought. _A seal?_

Asuma and Kurenai were sitting with each other in the audience. "What's that?" Kurenai asked Asuma. "Some new sort of seal?"

Asuma laughed. "Well, no," he said. "It's this sort of meditating position he does out of habit when he's thinking. He does it a lot when we play chess and other strategy games. But once he does that though, he always wins."

"Really?" Kurenai said. "But this is a real battle. It's different from a game."

"Well, I've heard that pieces used for devising war strategies eventually end up in games like chess."

"But wait a minute," Kurenai interrupted. "When the Genin teams were assigned, I looked up his grades in the academy and they weren't any better than Naruto's. How can you say he's so smart if his academics are clearly lacking?"

Asuma smiled. "Well, he said that it was too troublesome to move his pencil during the academy written tests. He would actually fall asleep during tests and not even care. He's laziness to the maximum. I knew he was good at strategies so I didn't know why he was doing so badly at first but I devised a little test for him in the form of a game. It was an IQ test to put together a bunch of differently shaped blocks into a cube."

"And how did he do?" Kurenai asked.

"He's a super genius all right," Asuma answered. "He scored over 200."

Kurenai's eyes widened. "200?"

Then Shikamaru put his hands down and opened his eyes.

"He's done thinking," Asuma said. "This'll be interesting."

"Hey, what's he doing?" Naruto asked.

Sora looked closely at Shikamaru and saw the newly found determination in his eyes. "It looks like he was strategizing."

"Strategizing?" Naruto said. "Who needs a strategy? All he's got to do is to actually move for a change!"

"Don't be so naïve," Sora scolded. "He's smart. He knows what he's doing."

Shikamaru reached behind him and pulled out a kunai. Then he began taking off his jacket.

"Looks like you're more ready to fight now," Temari mocked opening her fan. She attacked. The wind sliced through the trees and brought up more dust and dirt.

Shikamaru took the opportunity to run as best he could in the wind to the side.

Temari saw him. "There's no use in running away!" she said. She did another attack.

"Does he really have a strategy?" Naruto asked scratching his head in frustration.

"Probably," Sora said hopefully.

Temari attacked again and again creating a wind that coursed throughout the entire stadium. After a while, Shikamaru was nowhere to be seen. _Where did that coward go? _Her eyes darted back and forth looking for any sign of movement. Then out of nowhere, a kunai flew towards her. "Huh?" She barely dodged it. Another came shooting out at her. She blocked it with her fan. Then she saw the shadow coming again. _Hah, useless._ _As long as I'm behind this line, he can't get me with that attack,_ she thought. She didn't bother moving as she watched the black line race towards her. Then she saw that it wasn't slowing down. _Wait a minute!_ She jumped back and with just enough distance so the shadow couldn't reach her. "Don't think I don't know what you're doing!" she jeered at Shikamaru who was standing in front of her in the shadows. "You were just killing time to wait for the sun to set to increase your shadow!"

Shikamaru kept his shadow at her feet and waited.

"Temari! Above you!" Kankuro shouted from the balcony.

Temari looked up squinting her eyes from the sun. "What is that?" A shadow began forming at her feet. She looked down. _Oh shit!_ she thought. She began jumping back as quickly as she could. Shikamaru's shadow was growing longer because of the newly added shadow.

Up in the air, Shikamaru's jacket was used as a parachute for the kunai he had taken out. He had set it lose in the wind that Temari had created within the arena and let it float up to create a shadow. Shikamaru twisted and turned his shadow following Temari's every move.

Soon she flipped up in the air and landed quite a ways away from the oncoming shadow in between the two holes created from Naruto in his earlier fight, and she saw that the shadow could go no further. The parachute had floated to the ground. She was panting from the slight retreat but she smiled.

"So, you dodged this trick too, huh?" Shikamaru said.

Temari slammed her fan into the ground in front of her making a barrier between him and her. _Ok, if I wait much longer, the sun will go down further and his territory will increase. _I'll finish him off with my next move. She planned on using a Shadow Replica to trick him into catching that one and then she would go in for the kill. _All right,_ she said to herself. _Let's end this._ "Kage Buushin No Jutsu," she whispered softly.

But then nothing happened. _What the? _She couldn't move. _Oh, no!_ Her eyes widened in fear. _How's this possible?_ Her arms began to move out to the sides.

Shikamaru was now in control. He stood up and Temari did as well. "The Shadow Imitation finally worked," he said. "I'll show you what's behind you." He turned his head making Temari turn hers as well.

She saw that the shadow was coming out from the hole behind her. Then she felt her head move forward. _This can't be!_ The shadow had gone into the hole in front of her and then out from behind her trapping her.

"Hey! He did it!" Naruto yelled. "Sora! He actually caught her!"

Sora smiled. "Of course he did," she said.

Naruto caught Sora in a joyous hug. "All right! That's three of the rookies that pass!"

"That's the hole that Naruto dug when he came out of the ground," Shikamaru explained. "That's why they're connected."

"What? Your shadow can go through the tunnel of the holes?" Temari asked shaking with fear. _That attack with the jacket was just a ploy used to get me to this location…_

Shikamaru walked forward as did Temari. They stopped when they were only a few feet apart. Then Shikamaru raised his hand and Temari's rose as well.

The crowd was silent. _Everyone seems to be drawn into this match,_ Sora thought. _Heh, it just goes to show that although he's not well known, he would make an excellent shinobi._

Then Shikamaru spoke. "I lose, I give up," he said.

Sora's eyes widened. _What?_

"WHAT?" Naruto screamed.

"What did you say?" Temari asked shaking.

"Well, I used up a lot of my Chakra and I can only hold on to you for about 10 more seconds. I thought of about 200 possible moves but time's up," Shikamaru said. The shadow disappeared.

Temari's hand dropped to her side. She was shocked.

Shikamaru sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "It's too much trouble to do any more. One match is good enough for me."

_Hm, strange,_ Gemma thought but smiled. "Winner, Temari," he said.

A murmur ran through the crowd.

"WHAT?" Naruto yelled again. "He's just going to give up like that? He was winning!" He ran out of the balcony heading down the stairs.

"Wait, Naruto!" Sora called but he was gone.

Naruto ran towards to arena entrance ready to pummel Shikamaru's face. Shikamaru was calmly walking in with his hands in his pockets. "Shikamaru!" Naruto yelled.

Shikamaru looked up. _Oh crap, _he thought.

Naruto was about to punch him square in the face when he suddenly stopped. "I'm so confused!" Naruto said. "Why did you just give up like that?"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "I told everyone. I ran out of Chakra," he said simply and passed Naruto making his way towards the stairs.

"You had her where you wanted her!" Naruto pursued. "You could've done something!"

Shikamaru sighed again and didn't answer.

Sora was left alone on the balcony with no one she really knew. _Naruto, _she thought. _You little…_ Then she felt someone's eyes on her. She turned slowly knowing it was Gaara. Their eyes met for a second but then she looked away. _I've got to stay calm,_ she told herself. _He'll know I'm scared. I must not show it._ She walked over to the railing again and clenched the bar. _Where the heck's Sasuke?_

It would have been Sora's match against Dosu right now but he was apparently unable to compete. Sora won by default and now it was back to waiting and hoping that Sasuke would show up.

Gemma then signaled to the announcer. "The Hokage has agreed to allow 5 more minutes for the Uchiha to arrive. If not, then he will lose by default," the loudspeaker said.

Sora closed her eyes. _Come on, _she thought. _You've got to show. What kind of a person would be late for this kind of-_

A gust of wind blew into the stadium. Everyone had to shield their eyes to keep dirt from flying into them. Then when the dust cleared, Sasuke and Kakashi were standing in the middle of the stadium. Sasuke had on a new black outfit and looked as determined but as calm as ever. Kakashi was smiling peacefully.

_Of course,_ Sora thought annoyed. _Kakashi-sensei, you've definitely rubbed off on Sasuke._

"Oh, sorry we're late," Kakashi said sheepishly to Gemma who was cocking his eyebrow at him. "Did we miss the match?"

Gemma smiled. "You're lucky this time, Kakashi," he said with a slight chuckle.

"All right then," Kakashi said. "I'll leave this to you." He exited the arena and made his way to the audience stands.

Sasuke was left in the arena with Gemma awaiting his opponent to arrive.

Sora couldn't help but glance at Gaara to see his reaction to Sasuke's arrival. _Is he…smiling?_

Gaara had an evil and eerily calm smile on his face. His eyes met Sora's.

Sora couldn't look away this time. Gaara approached her, never taking his eyes off of her. Sora tensed but couldn't move. Then Gaara passed her but paused slightly.

"Make sure you enjoy this match," he said then exited the balcony.

Sora was breathing hard. _What…what's that supposed to mean?_

Shikamaru and Naruto heard the loudspeaker's voice say that Sasuke had arrived. "Finally!" Naruto shouted and began running up the stairs. Shikamaru followed suit but then they heard voices and stopped dead in their tracks.

"So all we want is for you to lose purposefully," a voice said.

"Yeah, we made these bets, you see?" another said. "If you win, we lose all our money." A short silence followed.

"What are you going to do?" the first voice asked. Another silence.

"Hey, answer us, twerp!" The shuffling of feet was heard, then, "What the-?"

"AHHH!" The sound of rushing sand filled the air and then silence.

"Wha-what happened?" Naruto whispered to Shikamaru. Both were shaking.

Then footsteps were heard on the stairs. Gaara rounded the corner and passed by them without even glancing at them. The two Konoha Genins held their breath until he was out of sight, then they collapsed to the ground.

"Did he just-"

"I think so," Shikamaru said. _He killed those two…just like that. No hesitation._

Sasuke looked around the arena and then the audience. There were people, mostly girls, all screaming his name and cheering him on. He narrowed his eyes. _Why don't they just shut up? _he thought. Then he saw Sora in the balcony. His breath quickened. _God, she looks even more beautiful…_

Sora wasn't looking at the arena anymore. She was breathless. There was something about Gaara that scared her to death. _This is dangerous, _she thought automatically. _Something's going on here with these Sand Genins._ She thought back on Kankuro's withdrawal and now this strange feeling coming from Gaara. _Does this have something to do with that man in the forest? _She shook her head and shut her eyes trying to block out the image of Gaara's pale green stare.

Sasuke saw Sora shake her head in fear. _Something's wrong,_ he thought. Worry automatically rose in his mind. _Sora, look at me!_

Sora opened her eyes and looked to the arena. Gaara was now coming out. She glanced over at Sasuke expecting him to be sizing up his opponent but he was looking straight at her. His familiar black eyes captured hers and she couldn't look away. _Sasuke…_

Sasuke's heart raced. He didn't hear the crowd going wild at the arrival of Gaara. He didn't hear the loudspeaker announce his and Gaara's names over and over again. He didn't see Gemma signaling to him. All he could think about was Sora. She had seen him. _I will win this, _he thought._ For you!_

Sora looked away, sweat forming on her forehead. _I've got to find Kakashi-sensei!_ She ran out of the balcony area.

Sasuke saw her leave. _What? Sora!_ Then his attention was turned to Gemma who had been calling him to come to the center of the arena where Gaara awaited.

Sora ran down the stairs. She was in such a hurry she ran right by Naruto and Shikamaru who were still sitting on the stairs in silent shock. But Naruto saw her pass.

"Sora-chan!" he called before she was out of sight.

Sora stopped suddenly. "Huh?" she asked. _Did someone say my name?_

Naruto quickly stood up as did Shikamaru and they both ran to Sora.

Sora saw them coming. "Hey! What were you guys doing here?" she asked. "You left and never came back up!"

"Listen, Sora," Naruto said nervously. "On the way back up, we…we saw-"

"We heard Gaara and these two guys fighting," Shikamaru interrupted. "Gaara killed them. Cold blood, no hesitation. We didn't see what he did but it didn't sound good."

Naruto nodded. "There's something about Gaara," he said. "It's like he's not human or something! We can't let Sasuke fight him!"

"Agreed," Sora said. "I was just about to go get Kakashi-sensei."

"That sounds good," Shikamaru said. The three ran off through the dark hallways in the stadium. They could still hear the loudspeaker blaring out the details of each of the fighters and they knew that they hadn't started the fight yet.

A few seconds later, they appeared in the audience seating area and spotted the white-haired Jounin. He was leaning against the back wall just a little ways away from the entrance they were in.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sora shouted getting his attention.

"Wha-huh? Sora?" Kakashi said snapping to attention. He turned to see the three running towards him. _Wow, she's grown so much, _he thought looking her over.

"Sensei, you've got to stop the match," she panted once they got to him.

"Hm? Why?"

"It's insane! He's insane!" Naruto said waving his arms in the air. "That guy's a cold-blooded killer! No way Sasuke can win!"

Shikamaru nodded. "He's right. I could sense his power when he killed two guys who were trying to get him to lose on purpose. He's not going to hold back at all."

"Well, neither is Sasuke," Kakashi said thoughtfully.

"BEGIN!" the loudspeaker screamed. The crowd went absolutely wild with cheers and applause. This was what they had all come for.

_No!_ Sora thought turning her gaze quickly to the arena. Sasuke had thrown a shower of shurikens straight for Gaara. They were going incredibly fast. _Wow, he has grown stronger._

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto shouted. "Don't you understand?"

Kakashi didn't say anything. _What do they mean?_ he thought. _I know Gaara is incredibly strong, but Sasuke is ready. There shouldn't be a problem._

In the arena, Gaara's sand had made a replica that caught all of the shurikens Sasuke had thrown at him. Gaara himself hadn't moved an inch. He just stared at Sasuke with unwavering eyes.

_Hm,_ Sasuke thought. _Time to kick it up a notch._ He made some seals and boosted his power. His speed dramatically increased making him barely a blur to the untrained eye.

_No way!_ Naruto thought. _He's as fast as Lee was without his weights._ During the fight between Lee and Gaara in the preliminaries, Lee had worn weights around his legs to train himself but then he took them off at the approval of Gai-sensei. Everyone was shocked at Lee's speed. He was the first to ever get passed Gaara's sand barrier.

Sasuke made circles around Gaara trying to get a punch in but the sand seemed to follow him everywhere. _Not fast enough,_ he thought. Then he pushed himself harder. He punched again. _Blocked!_

_This guy,_ Gaara thought in alarm. He was looking around trying to see where Sasuke would be next. _He moves like that other one._

Sasuke used a bit more Chakra to give himself one final boost. He went to maximum speed and landed a powerful punch right in Gaara's face.

Gaara went flying to the right. _Again?_ he thought. His sand rushed behind him to catch up but he crashed to the ground before it could catch him. His sand armor on his face was cracked from the impact.

Sasuke wasn't done yet. "AHHH!" he yelled as he came at Gaara again. It took a lot of stamina to keep his speed up but he wasn't going to slow down yet.

Gaara moved his arms in front of him controlling his sand now instead of letting it go by itself. This way he moved it much more quickly and was able to block the new attacks being thrown at him. It took a lot of Chakra to maintain his sand armor and to move his sand at that speed. _I'll have to use my defense,_ he thought barely blocking another vicious attack by Sasuke.

_If I don't get him soon, I'll run out of stamina, _Sasuke thought. He continued throwing punches and kicks at Gaara but all seemed to be deflected by the sand. _Damned sand, _he thought as he almost hit Gaara. Then he saw an opening. _Heh, gotcha._ He managed to kick Gaara hard in the stomach.

Gaara hadn't anticipated such an attack and was once again thrown backwards. He coughed up spit that had surfaced in his mouth and landed on a layer of sand.

Sasuke took the time to take a quick break. He was panting heavily. _That must've done something! _he thought.

Gaara stirred and then stood up. He calmly wiped his mouth with his hand and faced Sasuke. Besides the cracks in his sand armor, he didn't look injured at all.

_What? _Sasuke thought in alarm. _His armor is that strong?_

"Shell cocoon," Gaara said as he put his hands together in a seal. The sand began pouring out of the gourd on his back and condensed making a spherical barrier of sand around Gaara.

"It's no use!" Sasuke shouted and ran towards Gaara again. _I've got to get him before it closes! _"AHH!" He powered up but then. "Huh?" A spike of sand shot out to meet him from the cocoon. Sasuke barely dodged it as another spike came straight for him. _What the hell?_

The cocoon was almost completed with only a small hole in the front to let Gaara see what was going on. He saw his defense working against Sasuke. _Pitiful fool,_ he thought. _If you get too close, my shell will automatically attack from any direction and it is nearly impossible to penetrate,_ he thought and smiled evilly. _I hope Sora is enjoying this._ He laughed.

Sora's eyes were glued to the arena. She had stopped talking. _I've never seen Gaara fight before, _she thought shaking. _He's too powerful. He's too ruthless!_

Sasuke skidded backwards after dodging a close call. He stopped attacking to think. _This is bad,_ he thought. _I've got to use my Sharingan now._ "Sharingan!" he said. His eyes turned a fierce red and two black marks appeared around his pupil in each eye. _Now, I can get pass those annoying spikes._ He ran towards the sphere of sand again while making seals for his fire ball. The spikes shot out from every direction but Sasuke dodged them easily now that he had called out his Sharingan. He could predict every move of the sand and dodged accordingly.

Gaara watched with growing interest. _He's dodging them as if they weren't moving, _he thought. He watched the blur of black coming closer and closer to him. _He's going to make it through._ He quickly closed the small hole in his cocoon. _But he won't break through._ He calmly stood in the dark gathering more sand in his hand to make an eyeball to put on the outside of his barrier so that he could see what was happening.

"Fire Ball Jutsu!" Sasuke yelled and aimed his powerful fire blast at the mound of sand when he was close enough.

The barrier shook and some sand fell from the walls and ceiling onto Gaara. _He is indeed powerful,_ Gaara thought but he was confident that this attack couldn't break through. Once he felt the heat go away, he transported his created eyeball to the outside of the cocoon. It appeared hovering above the barrier.

Sasuke had jumped back after his attack on Gaara to see the results. He saw a layer of blackened sand fall off of the sphere and pile up on the ground but other than that, there was no effect. _Dammit…fine then, I'll have to use it. _He ran back towards the arena wall and then straight up.

"What the heck's he doing?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi smiled behind his mask. _He's going to use the Chidori, _he thought. _Hopefully he'll remember what I said about it. _He had warned Sasuke that he could only use the Chidori two times a day. If he tried the third time, it could kill him, especially since he had the curse from Orochimaru.

Sasuke concentrated his Chakra into his left hand while grasping his wrist with his right hand. Soon a blue light appeared and static shock lines began dancing in his palm. A high pitched electric buzz filled the stadium.

"Is that…" Sora thought out loud, "the Chidori?"

Kakashi looked at his red-haired student. _So she remembers this attack,_ he thought.

_So that's what Kakashi-sensei's been training him for. The Chidori,_ Sora thought. _In order to use this attack, you've got to have enough thrust power and speed. No wonder Sasuke's so much faster than before._

"What? Chidori?" Naruto asked confused.

Kakashi nodded. "It's my only original move," he said softly.

"Only original move?" Naruto repeated.

"Yes," came another voice. It was Gai-sensei and Lee was next to him on crutches. Everyone turned in surprise to see him there.

"Lee!" Sora exclaimed.

"Sora-chan," Lee said with a slight blush.

"Yes, I know this move all too well," Gai said with dramatic remembrance. "It is called the Chidori because it sounds like a thousand birds. Another name for it is Lightening Cutter because Kakashi was able to cut through lightening with it once."

"Really?" Naruto asked in amazement, his eyes becoming wide.

_No way,_ Shikamaru thought. He glanced up at the lazy-looking Kakashi. _No wonder he's considered a genius._

Sasuke stood up on the wall. _It's ready._ Then he whipped his hand back and started running straight down the wall letting gravity help him speed up. The Chidori in his left hand was tearing up the concrete as he passed over the wall with incredible speed. "AHHHH!" he powered up. Once his feet hit the ground, he was going even faster than before.

"No way," Lee gasped quietly.

Sasuke anticipated the spikes of the cocoon coming out and dodged them even though he was at top speed.

Gaara watched through his make-shift eye. _What? No, this is impossible!_ He was powerless to move because of his barrier. Then before he could think anything else, Sasuke's attack had reached the sand barrier. Sand, dirt, and smoke was flung up in the air from the impact. No one in the audience could see anything.

It was silent for a moment until the dust settled revealing the barrier to still be intact but Sasuke's hand had broken through. The crowd went wild with gasps of awe and cheers.

Inside the dark sand chamber, Gaara was shaking. There was a warm fluid running down his arm and chest. _Wha-what is it? _he asked himself widening his eyes. It hurt. Yes, more than anything he could ever think of but he didn't scream. He didn't understand. _Mother, what is this?_ He moved his other arm to his shoulder and touched the center of his pain. The warm liquid covered his hand. Then he brought it close to his face.

Sasuke pried himself free of the sand after a while. He fell back panting heavily. The attack had cost him a lot of his Chakra and body energy as well. _That had to have done something!_

The hole that Sasuke had made allowed light to spill into Gaara's stronghold. Then he saw it. "It's blood," he said quietly. "MY BLOOD!" he screamed. The entire stadium heard his cry. He got a crazed look on his face. "I bleed, Mother," he said laughing. "I bleed. Just like a human!" Then he felt his body change. "AHHH!" he yelled in pain as his body started transforming out of its own will.

Sasuke looked into the hole and saw something moving. _What is it?_ he thought. Then a huge elongated arm with a clawed animal-like hand on the end of it shot out through the hole. "What the hell?" he said and jumped back. The arm flailed about on the ground as screams were heard from within the sand cocoon.

Sora stared in shock and fear at the mutated arm writhing on the arena floor. _My god, _she thought. Then she turned towards her sensei. "Please!" she said. "You see that?" She pointed to the arm. "You have to stop this!"

Kakashi didn't respond.

"Sensei!" Sora grabbed his arm but then dropped it because she felt sleepy all of a sudden.

Everywhere feathers were dropping from the sky and people were dropping out of their seats. Lee, Naruto, and even Shikamaru dropped down. Sora was about to when she felt Kakashi grab her. "Dispel," he said quietly.

Gai also dispelled the illusion attack. "Kakashi, we're going to have trouble," he said.

Kakashi nodded but didn't let Sora go. "Sen-sensei?" she asked gradually waking up again.

"Look out!" Gai shouted. He pushed Kakashi and Sora out of the way and grabbed the three knocked out boys. 6 shurikens struck the ground where they once were.

"What the-?" Kakashi looked around and saw 8 ANBU members advancing on them. _Imposters?_ "Sora, wake up," he said quietly but sternly.

Sora immediately shot her eyes open. She saw the ANBU members as well. "What's going on?" she demanded. She tried to move but couldn't. Kakashi still hadn't let go.

Then one of the imposters attacked Kakashi and Sora. Kakashi spun around placing himself between the attack and Sora. He blocked it with his kunai and managed to kick the attacker away. Gai was fighting with some other imposters across the stands.

In the arena, the arm had slithered back into the cocoon but then Gaara broke through his own barrier and revealed himself with a normal body, but his eyes were dazed with insanity and anger. "I'LL KILL YOU!" he shrieked. His voice was that of a crazy man.

Sasuke took a step back in shock.

Then Kankuro and Temari swooped down from above on Temari's fan near Gaara. "He's forgetting the mission! We have to get him out of here!" Temari said. Kankuro nodded and they grabbed their teammate and began running out of the arena.

Then there was an explosion in the Hokage's seating area. "What-" Sasuke didn't know what was going on. He looked up at the audience stands and saw that everywhere the people were asleep except for the Jounins who were fighting ANBU imposters. "What's going on here?" He didn't see a shadow cross over him.

An imposter attacked Sasuke with his kunai. Sasuke turned just in time to see him but not enough to do anything about it.

But Gemma stepped in and cut through the imposter. "Sasuke," he said.

Sasuke looked at him.

"Go after the Sand Genins," he ordered. "You're abilities are that of a Chuunin already. Consider this a mission."

Sasuke nodded and immediately went off in the direction of the Sand Genins.

Kakashi saw Sasuke jump up over the stands and out of the stadium. _He's going after Gaara,_ he thought. "Sora," Kakashi said. "I need you to get to Shikamaru."

"What? Why?"

"He's still awake," Kakashi explained quickly. "He just faked being knocked out so he wouldn't have to fight."

"What?" Sora said. _That lazy-_

"Then I need you three to go and find Sasuke as soon as possible," he said.

"Sasuke?" Sora looked to the arena and saw that only Gemma was there fighting off three other ninjas. All around her she heard the clash of kunais. "Right," she said.

Kakashi suddenly whipped them both around again and cut through another attacker.

Sora gasped at the sudden movement.

"You've got to be extra careful now," he warned. "This is a real battle. These ninjas are all Jounin or Chuunin leveled. Stay low."

Sora nodded and Kakashi let her go. Kakashi started fighting off other attackers while Sora crept hopefully inconspicuously towards where Gai had placed the three unconscious boys. She almost made it to Shikamaru when someone grabbed her shoulder. She gasped and looked to see who it was.

"You've got a pretty face," one of the ANBU imposters sneered. He held a kunai to Sora's throat. "I hate to see you go to waste."

Sora became mad instead of afraid. "Bastard!" she spat and surprise-kicked him in the legs causing him to lose balance. She managed to get free from his grasp. _Shoot, I don't think I can kill him! _she thought as she ran towards Shikamaru.

"You bitch!" the man snarled. He leaped towards her and was about to throw a kunai at her when he felt himself hit to the side and through the wall.

Gai had punched him so hard, he had made a new exit in the stadium. "Sora!" Gai said. "Get those two and get out of here!"

Sora gave a quick sigh of relief and nodded. She finally reached Shikamaru and shook him hard.

"Eh? OW! What the-?" Shikamaru complained.

"Shikamaru! I can't believe-well, never mind. You've got to wake Naruto up and we've got to get Sasuke, now!" she said continuing to shake him.

"All right, all right, I'm up already," he complained. He turned to Naruto and dispelled the illusion.

Naruto's eyes fluttered open. "Whu-wha?" he said groggily.

"Naruto we've got to go get Sasuke!" Sora said exasperated.

Naruto sat straight up. "Sasuke!" he shouted. "Where?"

Then Kakashi landed in front of them slicing through another attacker. "Just get out of here and into the forest." He did a series of quick seals and then a cloud of smoke appeared. Out of the smoke came a very small, very lazy-looking dog. "Pakkun will lead you to Sasuke."

"What? This thing?" Naruto exclaimed.

"Hey," Pakkun spoke. "I'm more useful than you are at least."

"It can talk!" Naruto exclaimed.

Pakkun rolled his eyes. "We'd better get a move on." He leaped out the hole in the wall created by Gai.

"Hey, wait up!" Sora called and leaped out after the dog.

Naruto immediately followed grumbling something about how the expression the dog had on was like Kakashi-sensei's.

Shikamaru sighed and leaped out the hole as well.

Kakashi shook his head and went back to concentrating on fighting off the attackers.


	8. Part VIII: Attack on Konoha

Part VIII: Attack on Konoha

_What's this?_ the Hokage thought in surprise when he sensed the illusion spell. _An attack? _He stood up quickly and saw that many Jounins and ANBU imposters were fighting in the stands and now in the arena. Everyone else was asleep. Then two smoke bombs exploded at his feet filling his seating area.

"Hokage-sama!" one of his body guards shouted as he jumped in front of the Hokage. Then out of nowhere, two kunais came straight for the guard and he was struck down.

"No!"

"Hokage-sama…" the guard said weakly coughing up blood. "Please, run!"

Then he felt an arm catch his neck and a kunai against his throat. "So," a dark voice said from behind him, "the attack begins."

The Hokage turned his head to see his attacker and it was the Kazekage. "What? You?"

He laughed. "You really are getting old," he mocked. "Let's see what you've got left!" With that, he jumped up onto the rooftop of the building taking his hostage with him.

Four imposters wearing ANBU uniforms came out of the smoke and each landed on a corner of the roof. They shed their cloaks and masks revealing four Sound Nins. One had six arms while another seemed to have two upper bodies connected back to back. Another one was very tall and big while the last Nin was an evil looking female with an attitude to go with her. "I hate those damned cloaks," she spat shaking herself off.

"Well, if we hadn't used them, we wouldn't have been able to get here obviously, bitch," the one with six arms shot back annoyed.

"Shut the hell up!"

"Hey, we're supposed to be a team so stop bickering and let's get on with it!" the big one said to both. Then the four made simultaneous seals with their hands.

"Do it," the Kazekage ordered.

"Ninpou, Shishi Enjin (Quad-Violet Flame Field)!" the four elite Sound Ninja said together. Four violet beams shot out from each of the four Nins' hands. Then from the lines each of the sparks made, a transparent purple barrier formed blocking the two Kages inside and keeping everyone else out.

"We've got to help Hokage-sama!" a real ANBU guard said to his team. The four of them rushed towards the growing barrier and leaped into the air.

"No, wait!" the Hokage shouted.

It was too late. One of the ANBU members crashed into the barrier and burst into flames. He let out a terrified scream and was dead in seconds.

"What?" the ANBU leader said. He and his other two teammates landed a few feet away from the barrier.

"It's an impenetrable barrier," the Kazekage said laughing at the angry look on the Hokage's face. "Now we can fight without any distractions."

"I didn't expect the Sand to turn on Konoha," the Hokage said keeping his voice calm.

"A treaty is just a camouflage to relax an opponent and catch him off guard," the Kazekage sneered. "The petty mock battles end here!"

"Are you trying to start a war?"

"Yes." The Kazekage smiled evilly behind the cloth covering his face.

"Conflicts should be resolved through negotiations instead of killing," the Third said. "There is still time to stop this."

"Perhaps when you get old, you become used to peace, Sarutobi-sensei."

The Third's eyes widened. _It can't be…_

"Heh, it's a shame," the Kazekage continued. "I was going to steal Sasuke away when Gaara did his thing but it seems as though I can't have everything my way."

"So you're after Konoha and Sasuke?" the Third questioned.

"Well, yes," the Kazekage said. "Once Gaara is fully awakened, the mission will be complete. You could've seen something much more interesting. But anyway, your ignorance has driven Konoha to its end. I win."

"Hm," Sarutobi said. "We don't know the result until the very end. I believe I taught you that much,"

The Kazekage smiled and pulled off his veil revealing his real face.

"Orochimaru."

He sneered. "Surprised to see me, Sensei?"

"I knew a day like this would come, but you will not take my head so easily."

"You really are getting old, Third," Orochimaru said. "You should've picked a Fifth sooner since you're going to die here."

"Hm," Sarutobi responded. Then the two fell silent for a while as Orochimaru scanned the area. Sarutobi waited patiently for him to move. He looked up at his former student and saw tears in his eyes. He smiled. "Are you that happy to see the destruction of Konoha or do you find the heart in yourself for killing your old teacher?"

Orochimaru turned to look at him. "No," he said. Then he drew back his kunai and stabbed.

"Hokage-sama!" the ANBU squad leader yelled as he saw blood fall. He couldn't see much else since the barrier was darkening.

"I was just sleepy," Orochimaru continued and let his hands fall. He had stabbed his own hand but it didn't seem to affect him. "Now I'm awake." He slipped his arm off of the Hokage's shoulder lazily and walked away.

"I thought so," Sarutobi said unfazed.

Orochimaru took off the Kage hat and let his long black hair fall freely behind him. "I like to see moving things," Orochimaru said. "If something doesn't move, then it gets boring. A windless windmill is nice to look at from time to time but most of the time it's useless to even notice. Now, I want to move the windmill with the wind called the Destruction of Konoha."

"Hm. You haven't changed a bit I see," the Third said moving his hand up to his hat.

The three Genins raced through the forest, jumping from branch to branch in the trees, as fast as they could. Pakkun was leading the way sniffing out where Sasuke had gone. No one even attempted to talk since they were all moving so quickly. Then suddenly Pakkun stopped.

"Huh?" Sora said and stopped immediately behind Pakkun.

Shikamaru noticed as well and was able to stop a few feet ahead.

"Hey, why'd you- " CRASH! Naruto finally stopped by running into a tree trunk. He fell backwards shaking from shock and pain.

"Naruto!" Sora exclaimed and jumped over to him. "Are you ok?"

Naruto twitched slightly. "Agh…"

Sora helped him stand.

"Hm," Pakkun said sniffing.

"What is it?" Shikamaru asked.

"I smell enemies approaching us." The three Genins stiffened up. "Nine of them."

"What should we do?" Sora asked quietly.

"I'm not sure. If we fight, we won't stand a chance."

Naruto and Sora both took in a breath.

Shikamaru fell silent for while with thought. "Then we've got to ambush them," he said finally.

"Ambush?" Naruto asked.

Shikamaru nodded. "In order to be successful in the ambush, we need to be silent when moving and discover the enemy first. Then we must secure a location to catch the pursuers off guard and inflict critical damage to them and then quickly conceal ourselves. Otherwise, these Jounin-leveled Nins will almost certainly kill us."

Naruto shuddered.

"With Pakkun's nose and our familiarity with the territory, we might just be able to pull off something. However, it is possible that our pursuers might actually know the terrain since they've probably been preparing for a while." Shikamaru sighed. "It seems that since our team is made up of an idiot, a Chakra-less female, a dog, and a big coward, we should devise an operation that looks like an ambush, meaning only one person will stay behind and set up things to look like an full fledged ambush and stop them."

Naruto became angry. "What do you mean an idiot?" he yelled forgetting to be quiet. "YOU BLAH BLAH BL-"

Sora clamped her hand over his mouth. _I guess he could sense that my Chakra's gone, _she thought miserably.

"Then who will stay behind?" Pakkun asked the daunting question.

Shikamaru sighed again. "I guess I will."

"What?" Sora exclaimed.

He nodded his head slowly. "I'm the one who has the highest chance of pulling this off and surviving. Besides, that's what my technique, Shadow Bind, is for."

"You can't just-"

"Sora," he interrupted and jumped over to her and Naruto's branch. He touched her shoulder. "We've got no choice."

She looked into his eyes. They were usually lazy and filled with a feeling of dullness, but not this time. He had the look of determination in his eyes. "But you might die," she said urgently.

Shikamaru closed his eyes for a moment then opened them again. "I'll take the risk," he said softly. He moved his hand up to her cheek.

"But why?" she whispered never looking away from his eyes.

_So I can protect you…_ "For the good of the group," he said. "I'll make it."

Naruto popped up getting a little uncomfortable with Shikamaru being too close to Sora. "He'll make it!" he repeated to Sora. "But we've got to go now or we'll lose Sasuke."

Sora looked down still not completely convinced. "I…"

"They're very close," Pakkun warned jumping to join his group.

"Sora," Naruto said.

"Sora," Shikamaru said nodding. "Go now."

Sora nodded slowly. "Please be careful," she said then she, Naruto, and Pakkun began leaping through the forest leaving Shikamaru.

He sighed. _She really does make me do things I would never do,_ he thought. _Good things._ Then he began to set up an ambush seen. He made fake paw and foot prints to throw off the pursuers and then hid himself. A few minutes later, he saw them stop exactly where he predicted.

"What's this?" the leader of the group said. The others looked around but then none could move.

"Huh?"

"Heh, you fell for my trap," Shikamaru said coming out from his hiding place. He had used his Shadow Bind to capture the Sand Nins. _Wait, there's only eight here, _he thought. Then he noticed where the ninth was but pretended to look like he didn't. _Crap, I don't have enough Chakra to reach him. I must've miscalculated. _He looked up at the sky again and sighed. _All I wanted was a normal life,_ he thought bitterly. _Then I had to make the stupidest decision of my life and become a ninja…how troublesome._ He knew he was running out of Chakra and quickly.

"You're weakening," the leader of the Sand group sneered. "You can't hold us for long."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and didn't respond. _No, that wasn't the dumbest mistake of my life, _he thought. _If I hadn't joined the academy, I would never have met Sora and gotten to know her the way I do now._ He tried to keep his Chakra level up. _She really does bring me to a higher level. I've never felt this way about anything before. It's like she's taken over me or something. I think I've fallen for her… _

His shadow contracted slightly. _Well, I guess my time's up._ The Sand Nins eagerly looked towards the shrinking shadows. _It won't be too bad._ He fell to his knees panting. _I just never got to tell her how I feel. _Then his shadow disappeared.

"Finally," one of the Sand Ninjas sneered. They all leaped towards Shikamaru.

He closed his eyes waiting for the worst but then he heard a buzzing sound and then slashes and thuds. He shot open his eyes. It was his sensei. "Asuma-sensei!"

"Well, well, well," Asuma said smiling. He had his trench knives on his knuckles and his Chakra had elongated the blades. A cigarette was still hanging out of his mouth. Around him, all nine of the Sand Nins were dead. "Nice job, Shikamaru."

Shikamaru fell back to a sitting position. "This isn't my thing," he sighed.

Asuma looked back at him. _Heh, he's really got what it takes to make it all the way through, _he thought. _If only he could take a more serious interest._

Shikamaru looked back up at the sky. _Yeah, if it wasn't for Sora, I don't know what I'd be doing right now…_

Pakkun, Naruto, and Sora picked up their speed as they ran through the trees. "Will Shikamaru really be ok?" Sora wondered out loud.

"Of course he will!" Naruto said confidently. "He's got the smarts to do it so he'll pull through."

"As a matter of fact," Pakkun interjected, "I can smell that he's already stopped them. Their scent is rapidly diminishing."

Sora brightened up. "Thank God."

"Actually," Pakkun said sniffing with his nose, "I smell blood and it's not Shikamaru."

"What? You mean he actually killed all nine of the Sand Ninjas?" Naruto asked in jealousy and amazement.

"No," Pakkun said. "I smell someone else there too. He must've gotten help."

Sora breathed a sigh of relief. "So he's ok."

"I told you he would be," Naruto said smiling.

Sora nodded her head and smiled.

"But hold on," Pakkun said stopping again. This time both Genins were able to stop fairly quickly.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"I smell another figure ahead of us," he said. Naruto and Sora stiffened. "There's another pursuing Sasuke besides us." His voice had dropped very low. "And it's not human."

A short silence filled the forest air. "Can you tell if this thing is from Konoha or from the Sand?" Sora whispered.

Pakkun shook his head. "No, but I think it might be to our advantage to pick up our speed. Can you two keep up?"

Naruto frowned. "Of course we can!" he said loudly.

Sora and Pakkun shuddered at the volume. "Sh! Naruto!" Sora said. "Let's go then." Pakkun nodded and the three once again took off faster than before. _Good thing I had that Taijutsu training or I would never be able to keep up at this rate, _Sora thought.

After a while of running in silence, a huge explosion was heard. The three stopped in astonishment. "What the heck was that?" Naruto asked.

Pakkun sniffed the air. "Well, it seems as though Sasuke and one of the Sand Genins have stopped to fight a while," he said. "That probably means the other two Sand Genins have gone ahead."

"But is Sasuke all right?" Naruto demanded.

"Eh," Pakkun said lazily. "I don't know that yet."

"What?" Naruto shouted. "Then we can't just stop here!" He took off without warning.

"Hm...does that kid and Sasuke have some sort of intimacy I don't know about?" Pakkun asked Sora.

Sora cocked an eyebrow and sweat-dropped. "What?" she asked in disbelief.

"Not meaning to offend anyone," Pakkun said dryly.

"NO WAY!" Sora said. "In fact they practically hate each other."

"Oh, I see," Pakkun said chuckling. He took off.

Sora shook her head. _What kind of a per-well, dog would think that about them?_ she thought. _Well, then again, he is Kakashi-sensei's._ She laughed to herself and ran after the other two.

The running never seemed to end as the three jumped from branch to branch. Pakkun had sensed that Sasuke was once again on the move while the one Sand Nin that had stayed behind earlier was pursuing him. _He must have had no time to finish her off,_ he thought. Soon they came across the area that the explosion had taken place. They stopped briefly to inspect it.

"It was Temari who stayed to fight Sasuke," Sora said immediately recognizing the cuts in the trees as the same attack that was used against Shikamaru. "But Sasuke won."

"Good," Naruto said shortly. "Then let's get going."

The three kept running. "I smell that Sasuke and the Sand Genins have stopped again. They aren't too far ahead," Pakkun said while running.

Sora and Naruto nodded their heads.

"But that other thing that was following Sasuke is there too," Pakkun continued. "It looks like another battle. Sasuke is not involved though."

"Then we should find a way around it to save time!" Naruto shouted back at the dog.

"Ok," Pakkun said lazily. He sniffed the air. "Let me lead then, huh?"

Naruto slowed down a tiny bit and let Pakkun take the lead. They then made a slight right to avoid the battle taking place.

After a few minutes, Pakkun spoke again. "They're close."

Naruto could already sense Sasuke and Gaara's Chakra as they closed in. _Don't lose, Sasuke, _he thought. _What kind of rival would you be if you lost to that freak?_

_I hope Gaara hasn't transformed into that thing,_ Sora thought. She shuddered at the thought of the mutilated arm that had shot out of the sand barrier back in the Chuunin exam stadium. They slowed down a bit now that they could hear occasional clashes of metal against metal. Then the sound of the all too familiar Chidori rang through the air. _Oh, no,_ Sora thought. _The curse! What if…?_ Then she saw them in the distance.

Gaara's arm was growing out of his shoulder back into the enlarged mutilated state. He was laughing in a crazed manner at a heavily panting Sasuke whose hand was still glowing slightly from the Chidori. "What's the matter?" Gaara taunted. "You lack the intent of a murderer you weak, pathetic fool. Your existence is worthless!"

Sasuke tightened his grip on his arm. _I've got to use it one more time, _he thought. Kakashi's warning lingered in the back of his mind for a second but he shook it out. _No, it's the only way. _"Chidori!" he said again. But instead of feeling his Chakra gather in his hand, his body was shot with pain. "AHHH!" he screamed and fell to his knees on the branch. He couldn't move. _What…what is this?_ he thought as he writhed in pain. _My Chakra's gone!_

"Hahaha!" Gaara jeered. "I guess you're too weak to even use your master technique." He then sprouted a tail but he didn't notice. "Now, I'll kill you!" he screamed as he flew at the immobile Sasuke.

Temari who was watching in paralyzed fear was shaking. _He's really enjoying this, _she thought. _He actually likes fighting this Uchiha kid because he can cause him pain. _

_No, can't move,_ Sasuke thought trying to move but only feeling more pain course through his body. Then the burning sensation ran through his veins. _What?_ Marks began spreading from his curse across his body. _The seal's broken?_ He would have screamed if he could've but his voice was lost in the indescribable feeling of torture he felt.

A shout was heard as Naruto came straight at the attacking Gaara. "AHHHH!"

"What?"

Naruto slammed into the half transformed Gaara and knocked him off his course towards Sasuke.

Pakkun and Sora landed next to Sasuke. _No, it can't be!_ Sora thought kneeling next to him but afraid to touch him. _What happened to the seal? Is this curse so powerful that it can break through the seal?_ She mustered up her courage and lifted Sasuke's head up. She made sure she didn't touch the mark. _I know I can help him if I just touch it, _she thought miserably. Her hand was still wrapped in cloth from the earlier burn. _But…_

Sasuke felt his head being lifted and placed on something soft. He forced his eyes open though it caused him severe pain to do it. _S-Sora?_ he mentally screamed. _No, she's going to-_

Sora closed her eyes and reached for his neck.

_NO!_ Sasuke yelled in his head but all that came out was a mumble of some sort. He tried to move and succeeded in twitching his hand. _Come on, COME ON!_ Sasuke shouted at himself. Then miraculously, his hand shot up and grabbed Sora's wrist stopping her movement.

"What? Sasuke?" Sora said.

Sasuke weakly shook his head. "No…" he managed to whisper.

"Sasuke, just…" She tried to move her hand towards the mark again but Sasuke held on fast. She saw his pain-filled eyes and stopped. "You can't…"

Although it hurt like hell, Sasuke didn't let go of Sora's wrist. _She can't,_ he thought over and over again. _I don't care if I have to suffer…she just can't._

Naruto and Gaara went crashing into another tree trunk and it shuddered from the impact. But Gaara was already more than half way transformed into a monster and was able to recover faster. He shoved Naruto out of the way and leaped straight for Sora and Sasuke. "I'LL KILL YOU BOTH!" he shrieked. Half of his face was that of the monster now. His mutated eye gleamed with hatred while the other blazed with insanity.

"NOO!" Sora yelled and was able to get out from under Sasuke's head and out of his grasp in time to stand in front of him. She pulled out her kunai ready to take him on even though she knew she couldn't win.

"Sora, no!" Naruto shouted and tried to leap back in time to save her but it was too late.

_What? She's…protecting him?_ Gaara thought. He automatically slowed down slightly and instead of attacking with the intent of killing, he thrust his monstrous hand forward.

The clawed hand collided with Sora. She stabbed right through the hand but her kunai seemed to have no effect. Gaara's hand continued forward taking her with it and she was swept off of her feet and behind Sasuke. Her body slammed against a tree trunk causing her to cough up some spit and blood.

"Sora!" Naruto screamed.

Sora's vision went blurry. Blood trickled down the back of her head where it had collided with the tree. "Un…" she choked out incohesively. She shook her head trying to clear her vision but the throbbing pain increased.

_Sora!_ Sasuke thought. _No! Why? Why are you doing this for me? _

"YOU BASTARD!" Naruto snarled viciously. He felt the fox's Chakra rise up in him automatically. His eyes turned pointed and his fingers grew into claws. New found power surged through him but he was too enraged to notice any of this. All he could think about was saving Sora. He flew towards Gaara's arm that was still holding Sora onto the tree. He whipped out his kunai and powered up. "AHHHHHH!" he shouted and then with a flash of red power, he sliced through the mutilated arm.

_What?_ Gaara thought as he jumped back. _He cut through with just a blade? Impossible._

But although Naruto had cut through the arm, Gaara's hand was still pinning Sora to the tree and the arm grew back on Gaara's body. "What?" Naruto said and whirled around to face Gaara. His features went back to normal from his shock.

"Why?" he questioned a slowly fading Sora. His voice was eerily soft. "Why do you protect them?" He clenched his fist causing the hand pinning Sora to the tree to tighten squeezing Sora's body.

If she had had enough consciousness to scream, she would've but all she could do was wince in pain from the constriction.

"I don't understand," Gaara continued his volume level rising.

"Stop it!" Naruto shouted. "Let her go, now!"

Gaara turned his gaze to Naruto and hardened his expression. "You worthless fool. You think you can even fight me?"

"Yeah, and I'll beat you too!" Naruto said with an equally hard expression.

"Aren't you forgetting her?" he asked. "I have the upper hand."

Naruto looked back at Sora. The hand surrounding her was tightening slowly.

"As time passes, it will keep constricting until she cannot breathe anymore," Gaara said unfeelingly.

"SHUT UP!" Naruto screamed. _I'll summon that Frog Boss. Then I'll be unbeatable! _"Summoning Jutsu!" A poof of smoke appeared and then-

"Eh? Hey, I got summoned!" a tiny frog with a high-pitched voice said happily.

Naruto fell over. "What?"

"This is pretty cool!" the frog said jumping onto Naruto's head. Then he saw the half-transformed Gaara. "AHHH!" He shook with fear and clutched onto Naruto for safety.

Naruto sprung back up. "What the hell?" he shouted. "I wanted the Frog Boss, not you!"

"Hey, with that kind of summoning energy, there's no way you could summon Gamabunta!"

"What? Fine then! I'll just take care of this myself!" Then he leaped off of his branch into the air towards Gaara with the frog still clutching onto his head. "Kage Buushin No Jutsu!" he yelled and 30 Narutos appeared.

"Mugen Sajin Daitoppa (Wind Element, Infinite Sand Gust Storm)!" Gaara yelled and blew a huge sand gust at the Narutos.

"Wha?" The Naruto clones all disappeared in an instant leaving the real Naruto to face the storm. He was forced backwards and the sand around him cut him over and over again.

"AHHH!" the tiny frog screamed again and hid in Naruto's shirt.

"HAHAHA!" Gaara laughed hysterically. "You weakling!" Then he transformed again into the full monster that was inside of him. He yelled out in agony at his changing limbs and muscles but finally it was complete.

"I AM SHUKAKU!" the new creature bellowed smiling wickedly.

_Shu-what?_ Naruto thought and shakily stood up again.

The creature was enormous. It was standing on the ground now and many trees were crushed underneath and around him to make room for his gigantic body. He was taller than the forest roof and looked like a giant, armored, evil, raccoon monster. His eyes twinkled disgustingly. "It feels so good to be freed!" his voice rumbled through the forest like an earthquake.

Naruto shook at the enormous bulk in front of him. _What the-I can't beat him like this. I've got to summon the Frog Boss this time! _"GRRR!" he said and made the necessary seals to summon the frog he had only been able to summon once before, only when his life had depended on it. Now someone else's life was depending on him. "COME OUT YOU STUPID FROG!" he yelled as he slammed his hand downward.

Sora was not completely out yet and forced her eyes to open slightly. _Naruto…_she thought. _He's grown so much stronger…much more than I have. _Then a new feeling washed over her. _If he can do so much, then I can at least try! _She tried to move her arms but could only move her fingers slightly. _No, I can't give up!_ She felt the hand tighten and she gasped for air. _If I don't get out soon, I'll die…_

The ground rumbled with the coming of Naruto's summon and with a humongous poof of smoke, an enormous red frog with a pipe sticking out of his mouth appeared with Naruto on top of it. "What's this?" a deep echoing voice demanded. The frog had spoken.

"Frog Boss!" Naruto shouted at the top of his lungs so that he could be heard. "I've summoned you again to help me fight this thing off!"

"What?" Gamabunta turned his gaze towards Shukaku. "Him?"

Shukaku returned the gaze. "Bring it on!"

That annoyed the gigantic frog. "Naruto, why'd you bring me out to fight him?" he asked shaking his head a little to get Naruto off balance.

"Wha-whoa!" Naruto managed to hang on. "Hey! I summoned you to help me! You shouldn't ask questions like that!"

Gamabunta sighed. "I'm not in the mood-"

"Hey, Gamabunta-sama!" the tiny frog piped up climbing out of Naruto's shirt. "This Shukaku dude's been picking on us and Naruto's only trying to save his friends!"

"Hm?" Gamabunta looked down to see the helpless Sasuke and Sora both in deep pain.

"Please Frog Boss!" Naruto pleaded. "I need your help!"

Gamabunta sighed. "Oh, ok," he grunted. "Let's get this over with quickly now."

Shukaku laughed hysterically. "We'll see who'll get who!" With that the giant armored raccoon ran towards the frog.

Gamabunta narrowed his eyes and then leaped swiftly to the side drawing his sword that had been hanging around his waist. As Shukaku passed by, Gamabunta sliced off an arm of the raccoon.

"Uh?" Shukaku said and stopped running skidding to a halt causing the ground underneath him to pile up.

"Hey, hey, Frog Boss!" Naruto shouted. "Sora and Sasuke are in that direction! Don't let him-"

"I know," Gamabunta bellowed. Then with one giant leap, he swung his sword at Shukaku forcing him to dodge backwards away from Sora and Sasuke.

The two giant animals landed on the ground and the trees almost jumped off the ground from the impact. "You'll regret that!" Shukaku shrieked in fury. "I'll get my full power out and then you'll see!" The raccoon monster concentrated his focus onto the center of his forehead and there appeared Gaara with his lower half inside of Shukaku.

"Gaara?" Naruto asked. _This is so weird…_

"This is my medium!" Shukaku said a little too energetically.

"Medium?"

"Yes," Gamabunta said. "That demon raccoon has possessed Gaara making him unable to sleep. That's why he has such large, black rings around his eyes. If Gaara was to fall asleep, Shukaku would gradually eat away at his personality until nothing remained."

"Ew, really?" the tiny frog squeaked with a shudder.

"Hm," Gamabunta nodded his head. "Shukaku's powers are limited while Gaara is awake, but once asleep, he will emerge in complete control of all his powers."

"Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu (Forced Sleep Technique)!" Shukaku said evilly.

"As I was saying…"

"What?" Naruto turned to see Gaara quickly falling completely asleep. "NO!"

"Now I can achieve maximum power!" the raccoon cried out happily. He ran towards the frog and Naruto. "Fuuton Renkuudan (Wind Element, Compressed Air Ball)!" A huge mass of compressed wind shot through the air towards them.

"Suiton Teppoudama (Water Element, Gun Bullet)!" Gamabunta countered and leaped out of the way. The water bullet hit the air ball and a huge explosion shook the earth.

Both giants were pushed back from the force. "AHH!" Naruto yelled and tried to hold onto the giant frog he was on.

"AHH!" squeaked the tiny frog and dove back into Naruto's shirt.

"Naruto! You've got to wake up Gaara! It's the only way we can win this battle," Gamabunta said.

"Right!" Naruto said confidently.

Meanwhile, Sora was trying to fight the steadily advancing blackness in her eyes. _Don't close your eyes,_ she thought. _Don't even think about giving up. _The hand tightened again. Sora couldn't help but have some wind knocked out of her. She gasped for air but couldn't take any in. She felt like she was dying…again.

Sasuke painfully turned his head towards Sora. "S…Sor…" He was still unable to move or speak for very long. _Dammit!_ he shouted at himself. _Why am I so weak all of a sudden?_

The battle raged on between the two giants and Naruto kept getting thrown around on Gamabunta's head. "Hey! I can't wake Gaara up if you can't get closer!" he yelled in frustration.

"I know!" Gamabunta said while dodging another swipe of Shukaku's claws. "But if I have to hold onto him I can't do it in this form! I don't have claws like he does."

"Then transform into something that does!"

"I'm bad at transforming."

Silence.

"What?" Naruto said in disbelief. "The great Frog Boss? Bad at transforming?"

"Shut up…"

"Hehe, sorry but-"

"Are you going to help me or just sit there and laugh?" Gamabunta roared.

"Oh, right!"

"Now, I'm going to run at Shukaku and when I say now, transform me into something with claws!"

"Uh, wha-" Gamabunta took off at full speed towards the insane raccoon. "AHHH!" Naruto yelled and hung on for dear life.

"NOW!"

"Uh, uh, transform!" Naruto yelled.

Gamabunta began to glow. He felt his webbed feet become clawed. He felt his entire body become furry and pointed. "What the hell?" A giant, red fox was now charging at the raccoon. It resembled the fox demon locked away inside Naruto.

"It was the first thing that came to mind!" Naruto exclaimed. Then in the blink of an eye, Gamabunta latched himself onto Shukaku.

"GO NOW!" Gamabunta commanded as he dug his claws into Shukaku.

"What do you think you're doing?" screeched Shukaku. He struggled to get free but the fox's claws were too strong and too deeply embedded through his armored skin.

Naruto quickly slid down Gamabunta's forehead and onto his nose. Then he leaped across the small gap between the two animals' faces and landed in front of Gaara. "YOU!" He ran up to him and landed a punch directly in his face.

Blood trickled out of Gaara's mouth but he remained asleep.

"It's going to take more than that!" Shukaku snarled as he began to free himself.

Gamabunta tried to latch on tighter but his transformation time was coming to an end. _Hurry up you fool!_ he thought.

Naruto continuously punched Gaara over and over again but nothing seemed to work. "AHHH! DAMN YOU!" he screamed and finally knocked his own head into Gaara's. A loud crack echoed above the other sounds of the fight at the contact of the two heads. Naruto's head started bleeding, but so did Gaara's.

Then slowly, Gaara's eyes flickered open revealing his pale green stare again. "Wha-what?"

"NOO!" Shukaku screamed. He broke free of Gamabunta's hold and leaped back. "NO! MY POWERS!" He began dissolving.

"Naruto," Gamabunta said going back to his frog form. "My time is coming to an end here."

"Wha? Wait!" Naruto said turning from Gaara.

_No, it's not possible,_ Gaara thought with rising anger in his eyes. "DESERT COFFIN!" he shouted and closed his fist. Sand rushed from around him towards Naruto.

"Uh, WAHHH!" The sand closed in and Naruto shut his eyes but then nothing touched him. "What?" His eyes opened and he saw that he was inside some sort of red, bumpy shield.

"Marthootho!" Gamabunta said. His tongue was wrapped around Naruto saving him from Gaara's sand thus impairing his speaking abilities. "Geth thour thass moothing!" Then he disappeared.

When the smoke cleared from Gamabunta's disappearance, Naruto saw that Shukaku was getting smaller and smaller. He seemed to be disintegrating as his body looked like it was made of sand that was being blown away by the wind. "NOOOO!" the raccoon shrieked one last time.

Gaara put up his hands again. "You!" he snarled. "Desert Coffin!"

Naruto didn't wait around to be attacked again. He dodged the sand attack which was slower than usual since Gaara was running out of Chakra. "GOTCHA!" He attempted a kick at Gaara's head but then he realized that he was almost out of energy as well. _Dammit!_

Gaara managed to block it and tried a physical punch of his own. Naruto saw his attack and threw his fist forward too. The two fists went past each other and landed right into the other's cheek. Then both fell down towards the ground since Shukaku was now completely gone. Neither could break his fall and they landed hard on the ground making indentions in the dirt. They didn't move for a while as they tried to catch their breath.

The sand surrounding Sora dissipated and shriveled away. Her limp body fell downwards as she gasped for air. Amazingly, she was still awake but she couldn't break her fall. Then she felt herself get caught by two arms. She looked up. "Sa-"

Sasuke put a finger to her lips. He had finally been able to move and managed to catch Sora before she fell. "Sora," he whispered. "I'm so sorry…"

Sora widened her eyes in concern but was unable to speak. She tried to shake her head to tell him that she didn't blame him but he suddenly lifted her upper body towards himself and wrapped his arms around her. He was shaking.

"Sora…" he choked out. "Sora…I couldn't…I'm just…god, Sora…" He didn't let go. He couldn't let go. He shook with the threat of tears that had never fallen. _I was too weak to protect her. I was too weak…_

Sora let him embrace her. She didn't exactly have a choice but she would've let him hold her even if she did have the strength to push him away. _Sasuke, it's not your fault,_ she thought begging for him to know what she was thinking. _Sasuke…_

Naruto raised his head after a while. Blood had streaked his face but he wasn't out yet. He inched forward little by little towards the unmoving Gaara.

"Why?" came a small cracked voice. "I don't understand you. Why do you protect others when it causes you so much pain?"

Naruto was panting but a smile crept across his face. "Heh," he said spitting out some saliva mixed with blood. "Because I'm protecting the people I love."

"Love?" Gaara said looking straight up at the sky.

"Yeah," Naruto said and continued inching towards Gaara. "We're very similar you know? I have a demon inside me too but there's one big difference."

"What is that?"

"I found people who care about me and I care about them…I didn't wallow in self pity," Naruto said. "I don't want to kill you, but I will if you keep attacking the ones I love!"

By then, Temari and Kankuro had found the two. "Gaara!" Temari gasped at the sight of him. _I've never seen him in such a weak state before._

"Why you!" Kankuro said trying to go towards Naruto but couldn't. He was bandaged up and had to lean on Temari for support. His earlier fight had left him beaten and almost dead until Temari had left Gaara to search for him. She had saved him by tending to his wounds quickly but when she looked for his attacker, she had only seen many small black bugs crawling around on the branches.

"No," Gaara said quietly. "Leave him."

His teammates looked at him in shock. "What?" Temari asked.

"Let's go. Take me back and leave him be."

Temari was too shocked to argue further. She led Kankuro over to Gaara and then gently picked Gaara up on her fan. With a final glance at Naruto, she conjured up a wind and the three Sand Genins rode her fan away.

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. His smile stayed on his face as he closed his eyes.

All the members of Team 7 were in the hospital but a few days later, they began to wake up. Naruto opened his eyes and sat up. "AHHH! That was a good nap," he said with a stretch. He swung his legs over the bed side but felt something pulling on him. "Uh?" Then he realized he had IVs sticking into his arms and bandages wrapped around his body. "WHAAAA!"

The shriek echoed through the halls of the hospital and soon a nurse rushed in looking like she had seen a ghost. "HUH?" she gasped when she saw Naruto trying to untangle himself from the mess of tubes and needles. "Don't move!" She ran over and tried to calm the struggling Naruto down.

In Sora's room, Sasuke sat next to her bed holding her hand. She hadn't woken up yet from her surgery. She had had multiple broken ribs and a severe lack of oxygen in her system from the constriction. Sasuke stared blankly at the girl breathing in and out of an oxygen mask in front of him. _Naruto's become so much stronger…I can't believe he could beat Gaara. I couldn't do a thing. Is he stronger than me? _He shut his eyes and held on tighter to Sora's hand. _No, I can't let this stop me. I must fulfill my goal. I must kill my brother and make up for my weaknesses. I cannot be worthy of her until I do!_ Then he felt Sora stir. "Huh? Sora," he said leaning down.

Sora's eyes slowly flickered open. Her vision was fuzzy at first but then she could make out that someone was there. _Who…_ She did one last hard blink then she could see. "Sasuke!" she said through her oxygen mask. Her voice surprised her and she looked down to see what she was wearing on her face. _I hate oxygen masks,_ she thought and tried to sit up.

"No, Sora, lie still," Sasuke said gruffly trying to subdue the exploding happiness inside of him. "You're not fully recovered yet."

Sora didn't listen of course and she used her other hand not held by Sasuke to take her mask off.

"Sora-"

"Sasuke!" Sora interrupted and pulled his hand to her cheek.

Sasuke was shocked at her actions. _Is she…?_

Sora closed her eyes. _He's ok, _she thought. _Was he able to tell what I was trying to say to him? _Her mind flashed back to when he had held her in the forest. His shaking voice lingered in her ears. "Sasuke." She closed her eyes and gave a sigh of relief.

Sasuke trembled slightly at her actions. _Why are you so forgiving of me?_ he thought. _I failed to save you. I failed and Naruto succeeded. Why do you-_

A knock was heard on the door and Sora's eyes opened. "Yes?" she called.

There was a slight pause and then the door was opened cautiously. "Up again?" a nurse asked. She was the same one that had freaked out when Sora had woken up the last time in the hospital.

Sora smiled and nodded. She glanced at Sasuke and saw that his gaze had never left her. She quickly looked away.

"Uh, I, uh have to check up on her," the nurse said carefully.

Sasuke nodded silently without removing his gaze from Sora and got up. He moved aside so that the nurse could inspect her. _I need to prove to her…I need her to know that I will try with my all to be good enough for her!_ Then he left the room.

Sora was about to call him back when the nurse spoke. "Well, once again you do surprise me," she said writing something down on her clipboard.

"Huh?"

"You seem to be perfectly fine," she said smiling. "Amazing really."

Sora sat up and didn't feel dizzy at all. "No way…"

The nurse nodded. "I have to tell you some bad news though," she said.

Sora looked at her waiting for her to go on.

"The Third Hokage has left us," she said her expression quickly changing to one of sadness. "He gave up his life to save us from Orochimaru."

Sora's eyes widened. _What?_

"His funeral is today and I think, if you want to go that is, that you're well enough to." She gathered her things in her arms and with a final nod left Sora to herself in the room.

Once the door shut, Sora thought back on what the nurse had said. "Hokage-sama…dead?" She shook her head. _Orochimaru is so powerful that he could kill the Third? Wait a minute!_ She twitched in new found realization. _He's the only one who knows how to cure me of this seal! Am I stuck without my Chakra for the rest of my life?_ She had let him seal her Chakra only because she had thought that one day he would lift it. Then a pang of guilt washed over her. _I'm being selfish,_ she thought. _He's died and here I am thinking only about myself._ She swung her legs off the bed and stood up. She was shaky at first but then she was able to walk normally. _I guess I should just go then, and get ready for the funeral._ She walked towards the door and reached for the knob only to have the door open in front of her. "Huh?"

"Sora!" It was Kakashi.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

He almost threw his arms around her he was so relieved to see that she was ok but he caught himself. "Eh-herm," he faked clearing his throat instead. "I see that you're well."

"Uh, yeah," Sora said looking down.

"I came here to take you home," he said.

"Oh, uh, thank you," she said.

Kakashi lifted her head. "Is everything ok?"

Sora immediately put on her best fake smile. "Oh yeah! Everything's fine. I just need to get out of the hospital."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Hm."

The two left the hospital and Kakashi walked Sora home. Once he saw that she was safely in her apartment, he went to his own to get ready for the funeral.

A few hours later, the entire village had gathered in front of the Hokage's tower in the middle of the village. They were all dressed in black for mourning. Sobs were heard everywhere as people tried to comfort each other. Sora stood by herself wearing a long black dress and a black lace veil to cover her face and red hair. She didn't want to attract any attention.

As in most sad funerals, the weather complimented the feelings of the people. It was raining. A picture of Sarutobi was placed on the coffin with flowers surrounding it. Then family by family, the people of Konoha went forward to pay their respects to their fallen leader.

Sora stayed in the back not exactly wanting to go up to face the memory of the Third Hokage. She let two tears drop down her face and lowered her head even further. She didn't want to let other people see her cry. _Hokage-sama,_ she thought. _You truly are a great leader. Sacrifice. I don't know if I'll ever understand it completely but you've taught me so many things. I didn't really know you that well. In fact, I hated you for sealing my Chakra. But you are wiser than I am. I respect your decision…_ She clenched her fist. _But I will try to find a way to stop this thing inside of me once and for all!_ Then she felt a hand grasp her tensed wrist. She quickly looked up to see who it was. It was Sasuke.

He gently lifted her veil so that he could see her face clearly. "I'll take you home," he said softly looking into her crimson eyes. He lifted his hand to her cheek and wiped the tears away.

Sora shivered at his touch. "Sasuke," she whispered.

Sasuke wanted to draw her close and kiss away her sadness. He wanted to hold her in his arms and not have to worry about anything but her. He wanted to spend every moment he was alive knowing that she was his, but he disciplined himself to softly kissing her cheek. It almost drove him insane but he managed to keep a calm face. "Let's go," he said.

The two Genins walked slowly down the empty streets of Konoha with the heavy weight of depression sinking into them with every drop of water that fell from the sky. _Why does it always rain in these kinds of things?_ Sora thought as more rain showered the muddy ground. There was a heavy but understood silence between her and Sasuke but she felt uncomfortable. She didn't think that Sasuke had understood her expression when she had tried to convey the message that she didn't blame him for anything. "Uh, Sasuke?" she barely whispered. Her voice seemed to be swallowed up in the sound of the rain.

But Sasuke heard her. "Hm?"

Sora took a deep breath. "I want you to know that…" She paused.

Sasuke stopped walking to look at her. He held her arm so that she would stop as well.

"I don't blame you for anything that happened and," she spoke with more confidence now, "you shouldn't blame yourself either. It's not your fault."

Sasuke knew that he had been showing his emotions too openly lately. _She doesn't understand, _he thought miserably. _It _is_ my fault that I'm still so weak. It's mine and mine alone._ With one swift motion he pulled Sora forward.

She stumbled from the shock and her body fell towards Sasuke's.

Then Sasuke placed his hand under Sora's chin and lifted her head so that their faces were only centimeters apart. He stared into her deep red eyes. His breath was taken away for a moment but he quickly recovered. "You don't understand," he finally said with a surprisingly even voice.

"What?" Sora asked trying to pull back but Sasuke didn't let her. "What don't I under-"

Sasuke closed the gap between their lips and he poured his soul into her being. Nothing could describe his hunger, his emptiness without her. He pushed her back against his arm that was around her waist as he moved his head forward trying to deepen the kiss. His hand that had been holding her chin moved to the back of her head making sure she couldn't resist.

Sora felt his lips suckling hers passionately demanding for more. His tongue pushed against her lips wanting access to her inner depths. She tried to pull away but was trapped. She could only try to stand against Sasuke's burning passion but she couldn't hold on for long. With a stifled noise of defiance, her lips eventually parted and Sasuke immediately entered her mouth.

He delved deeper…as deep as he could possibly go. He was addicted to her taste, to her touch. He breathed in through his nose so that he wouldn't have to break the connection as he eventually backed her against the wall of a building. His hand around her waste slid up the wet plaster of the wall beside Sora's trapped figure. Then he ran his fingers through her wet hair down to her exposed neck, all the while never breaking their soul-searing kiss.

The rain continued to fall splashing on the two Genins' faces, sliding over their connected mouths. Sasuke kept pushing forward for more and more every time deepening the kiss. Sora breathed in through her nose as well seeing that he wasn't going to let up any time soon. She managed to place her hands on Sasuke's waist and tried to push him away but it only made him more obsessive than ever. The kiss lasted for a few more seconds then finally Sasuke broke away panting heavily. Sora gasped for air as well leaning her head back against the wall. Her chest was rapidly rising and falling trying to suck in the much wanted air.

The sound of Sora panting and the exposed skin of her neck drove Sasuke insane. He forced himself to recover more quickly and thrust his head in the crook of her neck suckling the soft, sensitive skin.

Sora gasped not only for air now but at Sasuke's continued fervent outburst. "S-Sasuke!" she managed to get out still recovering from their extremely long kiss. She felt a hand slide down her back and across her butt down to her upper thigh. Sasuke stopped worshipping her neck and tried to capture her lips again. Sora turned her head. "Please-"

"Sora," Sasuke whispered roughly and leaned his head against hers. "It's too much." Sora started to say something but he cut her off. "I'm desperate for you. Can't you see? I can't live any longer without knowing that you're mine, that you'll always be mine…always." He began planting soft but firm kisses across her forehead and cheek.

Sora shivered at the gentle caresses. She couldn't deny that she had also felt a wave of ecstasy wash over her when they had shared that kiss. _Am I in love with him?_ she asked herself closing her eyes letting Sasuke continue to kiss her.

Sasuke's kisses became harder now as he once again connected with her lips. _You're killing me inside! _he screamed mentally. _Do you love me or not? _He wanted so badly to just ask the damn question but although he didn't want to admit it, he was too scared of the response to try. He was too scared of possible rejection. _No, she can't!_ He suddenly stopped his onslaught of kisses and looked Sora straight in the eye. She was still breathing heavily. _I won't be parted from her!_ He used some of his Chakra to transport them right outside of her apartment door.

"Sasuke, what-"

He stopped her words by stealthily taking her keys from her, and he unlocked the door. Then with one swift motion, he swept her off of her feet. Her black gown flowed freely through the air from the sudden movement.

"Sasuke!"

He didn't stop to think. He went inside and shut the door. It locked automatically. He made his way over to the couch in an instant and swiftly set her down so that she was lying on it. He moved himself on top of her and reached for the buttons on her dress.

_He's going to…_ Sora thought as she tried to grab his hands.

But Sasuke was too quick. He ended up grabbing her wrists with one hand and tearing his black shirt off with the other. He used the cloth to tie her hands together and he placed them around his neck.

Sora couldn't pull the knot apart. _This is bad! _she thought. _He's losing control!_

Sasuke's eyes turned red with the unintentional Sharingan. The black markings surrounding his pupils began blazing with an intense fire. _Not ever!_ His fingers returned to the buttons on Sora's dress.

"Sasuke stop, please!" Sora said trying desperately to pull the knot apart. _Is he going to…?_ She shut her eyes tightly shaking her head.

Sasuke was fed up with all of the buttons on Sora's dress and let his passion lead him to rip the rest of it off. He wasn't thinking. He hadn't been ever since he had first pulled her into his embrace. His rational mind had all but died. _I will never let you go!_ his mind screamed fiercely. Within a matter of seconds, Sora lay completely naked underneath him.

"Sasu-"

"Sora," Sasuke almost snarled. "You're mine and only mine!" His lips crashed into hers as he roughly took off the rest of his own clothes.

Sora felt his hardened length against her inner thigh and gasped. She tried to speak but his lips only allowed her to let out a few unintelligible sounds of protest.

Sasuke didn't hear it. Nothing affected him anymore. All he wanted to do was take Sora right now. He rubbed his member across her sacred spot.

Sora moaned at the new sensation. She couldn't help it. Her body was not under her control anymore. It felt too good to resist and she couldn't help but relax her body. Sasuke's lips had once again captured her mouth but this time she didn't hold back. A new presence arose inside of Sora. _Make him want you, _it said. _Make him desperate for you…make him love you with blind devotion, so you can break him!_

Sasuke desire was climaxing. He rubbed harder and faster wanting to hear more of Sora's moans of lust.

"Ah, Sasuke…" Sora moaned out of pleasure and protest at this new feeling. Her hands automatically clamped onto his bare shoulders.

Then finally Sasuke made his move. He roughly thrust his length into Sora's chasm. Sora screamed out in pain, fear, and wild passion at the intrusion. Her fingers dug further into his shoulders almost breaking the flesh but Sasuke didn't care. He felt her body clamp around his member making him growl out of pleasure. He started pumping in and out of Sora letting her feel the friction between them. He grabbed her head and felt the sudden coolness of her still damp hair on his burning fingers.

Sora shut her eyes tightly as he began moving inside of her. She let out a small breathless moan every time Sasuke thrusted forward into her. Her back arched upwards letting her breasts push against Sasuke's hard chest. Her arms wrapped themselves around his neck pulling his head down to hers. His lips came crashing into hers once again but with their other body movements they slipped up and down in correspondence with the thrusting.

Both were reaching their climaxes as Sasuke moved faster and faster. He broke the kiss so that he could reach further into Sora. "Sora," his voice rasped in her ear. He wanted to hear her scream his name in lust and passion. He wanted the world to know that it was he who was making her feel this way.

"Sasuke!" Sora screamed out as her breath quickened. Sasuke had gotten what he wanted. They both moaned and panted as they climbed higher and higher towards the heavens.

Then Sasuke felt his release into Sora. With a final rush of air, he slumped forward panting heavily sweating all over. Sora was equally out of breath as she relaxed her muscles and fell back down to the couch. They lay still for a while letting their chests heave up and down filling their bodies with oxygen. The air was heavy and thick with their body heat and the only sound that could be heard was panting.

Sasuke recovered first and moved down to kiss Sora's neck knowing that she still needed air. "Sora," he whispered coarsely.

Sora couldn't respond yet as her chest was still rapidly rising and falling. She closed her eyes as her rationality came back to her. _O god,_ she thought. _I can't believe we just... _She took in deeper breaths trying to slow down her heart rate more quickly.

Sasuke continued slowly, gently placing more chaste kisses up and down her neck and collar bone. His hands had moved down to her waist and his fingers caressed the smooth, heated skin there. His eyes went back to normal as he somewhat calmed down. He shifted his body letting his length slip out of Sora a little recapturing the fierce feelings of love from only moments before. He moaned heatedly and nuzzled Sora's neck harder letting his tongue slide over her salty skin.

"Sasuke," Sora finally got out but once again gasped as she felt the coolness of his tongue glide over her neck. _We shouldn't have…_she thought with rising fear.

_And why not?_ the all too familiar voice of evil said in her mind.

_YOU!_ she mentally screamed at her other self. _Why are you here? You should be sealed away with my Chakra! _That other self should not have been able to come out anymore since her Chakra was supposedly her door to Sora's mind.

The voice laughed maliciously. _Oh,_ it said carelessly. _You think you can keep me away, do you? That old man's seal couldn't hold me back forever._

_What?_ Sora finally found the strength to move. She pushed Sasuke's body up a little causing him to stop his flow of kisses.

"Sora?" he asked. _Does she regret this?_ he thought frantically. _Did she not want this?_ Pain welled up inside of him as he looked into her fearful eyes.

"Sasuke," she whispered shakily seeing the pain in his expression. She could not deny that she had felt like she was in heaven when they had gone up to their climaxes. _It felt so right,_ she thought. _It felt so real…_ She wanted so desperately for her feelings towards Sasuke to be real love. She wanted to accept him and return his passionate desire, but she knew in her heart that something wasn't right. She knew that something held her back from truly loving him. She shook her head trying to clear her mind.

"Did you not want this?" Sasuke choked out seeing her shake her head. His heart wrenched in pain at the thought of rejection. He had given her his soul. If she said no, he didn't want any part of living anymore. It was all meaningless without her.

"I-I do," her voice spoke on its own.

Sasuke's heart skipped a beat. "Then you love me?" he asked breathlessly leaning his forehead against hers.

Sora placed her hands on the back of his head and pulled him closer. "Yes," she whispered then planted a soft kiss on his lips.

Sasuke's eyes widened. _She…she said…o god,_ his mind rambled. The feeling of ecstasy mixed with relief took over. "You love me!" he repeated once their lips separated. He quickly caught her lips in another soul-searing kiss and this time, Sora's lips parted easily for his tongue to access. He couldn't control his happiness. His heart ran wild with his emotions. _She is,_ he thought now kissing her with the same amount of passion as before, _finally mine._


	9. Part IX: Dangers

Part IX: Dangers 

The next morning, Sora woke up feeling incredibly sore in places she had never felt before. She felt Sasuke's arms wrapped around her naked body from behind and tensed slightly in surprise. _What the-? Oh, right…_ She exhaled slowly and tried not to move too much since their legs were intertwined and her back was pressed up against his chest. The sound of Sasuke's soft breathing floated through the air and she could feel his warm breath on the back of her head. A million thoughts raced through her mind of all the possibilities that could happen from their love-making. The "what ifs" screamed at her making it impossible to go back to sleep. Finally she stirred slightly to get out of Sasuke's embrace. She hoped that she could get out without waking him up but it didn't work.

"Mmm…Sora?" Sasuke asked groggily opening his eyes.

_Shoot,_ Sora thought. She quickly freed herself from his grasp and walked swiftly out of the room covering herself with her arms.

Sasuke's vision was still a little dim and all he saw was a blur of Sora exiting the room. "Sora," he said sitting up and rubbing his eyes. He didn't care if he was completely naked in front of her.

Sora soon came back in with a robe around her. She was carrying an extra one for Sasuke as well. "Here," she mumbled handing the robe to him keeping her eyes down.

"Is everything all right?" he asked cautiously taking the robe from her. He saw that her hand was slightly trembling.

Sora nodded and walked towards the kitchen after she felt the cloth leave her hands. She went right to work on getting something to eat for the two of them to get her mind off of things.

Sasuke quickly wrapped the robe around him and tied the string loosely around his waist still revealing his muscular chest. He made his way over to Sora who was getting some dishes off of a shelf. "Sora," he said embracing her from behind. His actions made her stop. "Please tell me what's wrong."

Sora put on her best fake smile, turned around, and placed a quick kiss on Sasuke's lips. "Nothing," she insisted and moved out of his embrace. She placed the plates and cups down on the counter and proceeded to the fridge. "Did you want anything specific to eat or drink?" she asked avoiding eye contact. She reached for a pitcher in the fridge.

Sasuke wasn't convinced. Doubts came flooding back into his mind of her love for him. He hardened his expression and advanced towards Sora. He grabbed her wrist before she could lift the pitcher.

"Sasuke?" Sora asked in surprise but she knew what he was thinking.

"I don't understand," he said pulling her away from the fridge. "Did I do something wrong? Do you regret what we did? Do you still love me?" He pulled her closer to himself and forced her to look into his eyes.

Sora's breath shuddered out of her at his intense gaze. _He always sees right through me,_ she thought. _But love? Can he see through my love? NO, I do_ _love him! I DO! _"Nothing, it's just…" she took a breath, "it's just it was my first time. I'm not used to the feeling."

Sasuke planted a firm kiss on her lips then pulled back slightly but leaned his head against hers. "It was mine too," he said softly and stroked her hair.

Sora took in what he said. She was a little shocked since almost all the girls in Konoha would give up anything just to be noticed by him, but then again his personality didn't exactly make him that type of guy. "I'm afraid," she whispered, her voice trembling, "that I might…someone might-"

"Find out?" Sasuke interrupted. "Why would that be a problem?"

"What?" Sora asked completely taken aback. She pushed him away. "Sasuke, what if I get…get pregnant or something? What would people-"

Sasuke pulled her forward suddenly cutting her off again. He gripped her tightly to his body and breathed in her scent. "Let them know," he said with a low voice. "What would it mean to us if anyone knew?" He began nibbling on her ear lobe causing her to shiver slightly. He smiled to himself. _Let the whole world know that you're mine._

"Please," Sora said trying to push him back. "We have to think rationally about this." Sasuke didn't seem to hear her words and held her even more tightly and continued to suckle her ear. "Sasuke!" This time she succeeded in pushing him back a little. "We've got to keep this a secret! It…it wouldn't look right! I mean, what about missions? Aren't we supposed to be shinobis now? Aren't we supposed to be able to control our emotions?"

"Sora-"

"What if some mission comes along and we'll have to either choose for the good of the mission or for each other? Emotions are dangerous in those situations!" The small fear that had started in her heart now grew to a monstrous terror. She was breathing heavily and her eyes were wide with a mixture of emotion.

Sasuke didn't know what to say in response. _I…_ The thought of his brother came flashing across his mind and he clenched his teeth. "I see," he said his voice dangerously low. He let Sora go and began walking towards the living room where they had spent the night.

"Sa-"

"I'm not strong enough yet," he said without turning around. He exited the kitchen.

Sora stared after him. _Oh, no…_ She shook her head and ran after him.

Once she entered the living room, she saw that the robe was draped over the couch and Sasuke had his pants back on. He bent down to grab his torn shirt that he had taken off of Sora's wrists sometime during the night.

"Sasuke, what-"

"I will be worthy of you," he interrupted her again and walked to the door. He paused and turned his head slightly. "I will prove that I am strong enough for you." With that he opened the door and disappeared in an instant.

"SASUKE!" Sora shouted and ran to the door. She skidded to a halt in the hallway outside her apartment and looked around frantically for the raven-haired boy. "NO!" She ran down the hall and out in the streets. She didn't realize that she was still only in her bathrobe. "Sasuke!" she called frantically.

The streets were busy with people still rebuilding and cleaning from the attack by Orochimaru but they all stopped to look at her.

Sora then realized what she had put herself in. "Uh," she stuttered in embarrassment. "S-sorry…" She quickly backed inside her apartment building and shut the door. Her heart was racing a million miles an hour and she was panting from embarrassment. She beat herself up mentally and then she ran up the stairs to her apartment. Once she was at her door she began searching her pockets for her keys, but they were nowhere to be found. "Dammit," she muttered under her breath and her fist pounded the door. _What am I going to do now?_ She wrapped the robe around her more tightly as she began to think. _I can't go out like this,_ she thought. _I don't want to break down the door either. But if I don't find Sasuke soon…_

"GRRR!" she said in frustration. "FINE!" She took in a breath and kicked open the door breaking the lock. _Now I'll have to pay for that,_ she thought miserably. She went inside and shut the door. It bounced off the door frame and swung open again since she had also broken the knob. "DAMMIT!" she shouted. She dragged the couch over and slammed it against the door keeping it shut. "THERE!" She was mad. Mad at Sasuke for leaving, mad at those people who stared at her in the streets, mad at herself… "I'm such an idiot!" she angrily whispered as she wiped her newly wetted eyes. She quickly took a freezing cold shower and brushed her teeth. She didn't bother eating breakfast as she threw the couch to the side and ran out the door. She wasn't worried that someone would come in and steal anything since there was nothing worth stealing in her apartment.

Now that she was dressed in her regular ninja dress, she sprinted through the streets at top speed desperately searching for Sasuke. _Where the hell is he?_ she thought. She jumped up on the roof tops to further her field of vision. Her eyes scanned the village. _Dammit, dammit, dammit!_ She was beginning to sound like Naruto. She knew that he was gone. She could feel it. Heavily panting, she dropped to her knees on the roof of the building. "Why?" she asked no one. Tears brimmed in her eyes. She looked up towards the sky. "What's wrong with me? Why did I tell him I…" She slammed her open hand down on the concrete. A strong gust of wind blew her damp hair into her face. She didn't bother trying to calm it down. _I told him I love him,_ she thought shaking. _I told him…is it real? _She cared deeply for Sasuke but she also cared about Naruto, Kakashi, and the others. She cared about every single one of them but none of them in that way.

A few minutes passed and Sora was still sitting on the roof of the building letting the cool wind clear her mind. Soon, she pulled her hair back so that it wasn't in her face anymore and stood up. _Where did the strong, determined Sora go?_ she asked herself with a hard expression on her face. She narrowed her eyes._ I'm a shinobi. I won't allow myself to be pushed off my course, my duty, my promise._ _I won't let this interfere!_

She leaped off towards the forest so that she could take her mind off of everything with hard training. Once she could see the field, she increased her speed and leaped high into the air. "AHHHH!" she shouted in a release of pent-up fury. She aimed straight for the ground. Her fist came in contact with the still damp dirt but the ground shook around her. Mud, dirt, and sand went flying everywhere but Sora didn't wait for them to fall to the ground. She ran through the shower of falling earth towards a gigantic oak tree. She concentrated her energy into her right hand and powered up. With one frustrated punch, her fist went through the entire tree trunk and the tree crashed to the ground. Birds and small animals scattered from the tree in fear.

Sora stopped to catch her breath closing her eyes. _I am a shinobi,_ she thought._ I may not be a Chuunin yet, but I have the principle. I will not let these damned emotions get to me. I've got to be strong!_ She opened her eyes and took in the damage she had done. The huge tree lay in front of her silently asking why. But Sora didn't care. She lifted her hand up and saw that there were splinters sticking out of her hand and numerous other cuts. She sighed and picked the pieces of wood out without flinching from the pain she felt. Then she took off the old bandages that were shredded and took out some new ones. She saw the old burn mark on the palm of her hand. "Sasuke…" she whispered. She used her teeth to rip the bandage cloth and then wrapped her hand covering the mark. She took in a deep breath and closed her eyes.

The wind shook the branches of the fallen tree in front of her causing some of the leaves to break free. They flew towards Sora and caressed her body as they passed. Sora opened her eyes with new determination. She struck out a fist in front of her. "I won't give in." She jumped into the air and delivered a spinning kick then landed on the ground with her hand touching the loose dirt. "I'll find my Chakra…" She kicked her legs into the air and spun around on her hand then she pushed off from the ground. She did a flip through the air and landed on her feet. She put her hands in the focusing position and concentrated on her body energy. "I'll find it then I'll return to my village." She raced across the field towards another tree and jumped up. She swung through the branches getting higher and higher. When she reached the top, she paused slightly. "I'll pay them the respect they deserve and then…" She jumped off of the tree and allowed herself to fall towards the ground. "…I'LL KILL THAT MAN!" She was falling faster and faster. The wind rushed past her body pulling her hair back.

Her eyes became silver but she didn't notice. Her fist she had pulled back began to glow with a blue fire. "AHHHH!" she shouted as she neared the ground. Then she threw her fist forward striking the ground with incredible force. An excruciating pain shot through her arm and branched out into her body. "AHHH!" she yelled now in pain and but with fierce determination as well. The blue fire on her hand spread into the ground. The dirt flew up in the air from impact but didn't fall. A wind from the blow she had made on the ground shot up causing everything within a few feet of Sora to rise into the air. Sora tried to release her hand from the glowing blue ground but she couldn't. The pain was rising inside of her. She cried out as she tried again to get free from the blue fire but to no avail. The fire spread all across her body and the field. "AHHHH!" she screamed as the flames engulfed her. Then she lost consciousness.

A few hours later, Sora woke up. She was still in the field but something felt different. She couldn't move her body yet but she blinked her eyes to clear her vision. Then she gasped at what she saw. Her breath became a cloud of mist. She forced herself up even though it sent waves of pain throughout her body. She ignored the pain and looked around her. The entire field was covered in a layer of ice. The tree that she had punched through earlier was now an ice figurine and the wind couldn't move its branches anymore. The ice felt immensely cold against her bare legs. She stood up but then fell back down. The grass, the dirt, everything was all covered in ice. Even the animals that were unfortunate enough to be in the field were now frozen solid. Sora shivered from the cold. _Did I do this?_ she asked herself. The she shook her head. _No, I couldn't have. My Chakra is gone. The Third…_ But she knew only she could have done this. _How is this possible?_

She finally found the strength to stand. She turned in a complete circle and tried to measure how far the field of ice went. On the forest side of the field, the trees for at least a mile were all frozen up to the very tops. On the other side, the ice field stretched for more than 2 reaching just up to the outskirts of the village. _Dammit, someone's going to notice that…_ She tried to think. _So this means I have my Chakra back right?_ She did the fire ball jutsu seal progression Sasuke always used to hopefully melt some of the ice. "Fire Ball Jutsu!" She put her hand to her mouth and blew out, but nothing happened. "DAMMIT!" she shouted in frustration. Then she paused. She felt a presence. _Oh crap…_ She slowly turned around and saw two figures dressed in black robes with a red cloud pattern in the middle and bottom. Their collars were up and they wore straw hats so their faces were covered. "Hello?" she said cautiously. She still couldn't feel their Chakra even though she tried. The two didn't move but the taller one whispered something Sora couldn't hear to the shorter one. She didn't like their secretiveness. "Can I help you two?" she said more loudly.

The two paused in their whispering and the taller one stepped forward. "Why, yes," he said. His voice was like icy metal as it floated through the cold air.

Sora shivered. _He doesn't sound nice,_ she thought.

"We're looking for a young man here in this village of, Konoha, is it?"

"Yes," Sora said cautiously. She wanted to run but she didn't move. She glanced back at the shorter one and saw that he still hadn't moved a bit. "Do you have a n-"

"What the hell?" a man's voice said from behind Sora. She turned around and saw that it was Asuma and Kurenai was with him. "Sora?"

"Asuma-sensei!" Sora said in relief. She glanced back at the two strange men.

"Who are you two?" Kurenai asked them.

The taller one then reached for a bundle on his back. "Wait." The shorter one finally spoke. He walked up to his companion. "We don't want any trouble," he said to Kurenai.

"Then state your business here," Asuma said gruffly. He felt something was wrong with these two. "Who are you?"

Then the shorter one reached up his hand and took off his hat revealing his face.

Sora gasped. _Oh my god,_ she thought. _It's that man…_

The man was looking at Asuma and didn't seem to notice Sora's expression of recognition or surprise but he saw it. _She remembers,_ he thought to himself.

"I knew it," Asuma said clenching his fists that were already dressed in his trench knives. "Uchiha Itachi."

Sora's eyes widened even more. She slowly backed up towards the two Konoha Jounins. _So he _is_ Sasuke's brother…_

Itachi looked coldly at Asuma and Kurenai. "I don't want a fight so I suggest you let us pass."

Asuma snorted. "No." He rushed at Itachi, his trench knives all ablaze with his Chakra. "AHH!" he shouted and threw a fist forward. But instead of expecting Itachi to block or dodge, his knife came in contact with a huge weapon wrapped in cloth. The taller robed man had blocked the attack with the bundle he had had on his back.

"You'll deal with me," he snarled.

"Huh?" The man pushed Asuma back. _This guy's really strong. _

Kurenai saw her chance to attack Itachi. "Kishibari no Jutsu (Tree Bind Technique)." She disappeared.

Sora couldn't move. The realization of having the man she swore to kill right in front of her stunned her body. _Why can't I move?_ she thought shakily. _I need…I need to attack!_ She was about to pull out a weapon but then saw that a tree had appeared behind Itachi and had entrapped him. _What?_

"You're trapped now," Kurenai said as she appeared to be coming out of her illusory tree.

"Hm." Then all of a sudden, he disappeared and reappeared in front of the tree while Kurenai was entrapped by her own illusion.

"What?"

_How did he do that?_ Sora asked herself her fear level rising. _He's that strong to be able to get out of a Jounin Genjutsu illusion?_

Asuma and the other man were clashing metal but Asuma was quickly losing ground. _Dammit,_ he thought as he was pushed back again. His arm was bleeding badly from a hit he had taken from the man's monstrous weapon. _Who is this guy?_ Then he saw the opportunity to attack. "AH!" he shouted and swung his knife at the man's head. He dodged it but Asuma managed to knock his hat off. "It can't be!"

"Hahaha," the man said. His face looked like it was made of metal. He had shining evil eyes and jagged teeth. "Surprised to see me?"

"Kisame Hoshigaki," Asuma said through clenched teeth.

Itachi drew a kunai calmly and swung it at Kurenai. She managed to get out of her technique and dodged, but barely. The blade cut the tips of her hair off. "I said I didn't want to fight," Itachi said coolly.

Kurenai didn't respond but attacked instead. She took out a kunai and swung at his head. Itachi easily dodged and threw a fist at her. She dodged as well but then saw his foot coming towards her face. She crossed her arms in front of her face and blocked his oncoming foot. But it was too powerful and she was thrown a few feet backwards through the air.

Sora watched the fight in front of her in fear. _These guys are too powerful. I can't sense their Chakra but I can sense-_

"We're going to need back up!" Asuma shouted to Sora. "These guys are members of the Akatsuki gang! Run!"

Sora finally snapped back to reality and turned to run towards the village but she quickly skidded to a halt when she saw Itachi appear in front of her. _Dammit._

"I can't let you cause any trouble now," he said as calmly as before.

_What?_ Sora thought. _It's like he's a different person._

Itachi wanted so badly to just grab Sora and go but since he was with his Akatsuki partner, he couldn't reveal his true intentions. "I wouldn't run if I were you," he said taking a step forward.

Sora backed up slowly. _I have to fight…but last time he was so powerful, even with my Chakra I…_ She shook her head and whipped out her kunai. "Well, you're not me," she spat. She focused her body energy in her blade. "AHH!" she shouted as she ran at Itachi.

_I don't want to hurt you,_ he thought but calmly readied his own blade.

Sora slashed at Itachi but only caught air. She knew he wouldn't go out that easily and turned around sensing that he was behind her. She was right. "HAH!" She swung again.

Itachi didn't dodge this time but grabbed her hand as it came for him stopping her attack easily. It sent a shiver down his spine when his hand came in contact with her skin.

Sora narrowed her eyes and used his grasp as a support to jump into the air and twist around to deliver a kick. He managed to block that attack as well but Sora then kicked herself out of his grasp on her wrist and flipped backwards. Then she sent a shower of shurikens at him.

Itachi dodged them and quickly moved so that he was going to be behind Sora when she landed.

Sora landed but couldn't sense him anywhere. _What?_ Then she felt his hands around her throat.

"Your Taijutsu skills are much improved," he said in a low voice knowing that Hoshigaki was too caught up in fighting Asuma to hear him. "I am impressed." He leaned towards her and inhaled deeply taking in her scent. His hands slightly slipped down so that they were resting on her collar bone. His fingers caressed her smooth skin.

Sora shivered at his touch. _What is he-is he going to kill me or what? _

Kurenai had now recovered from Itachi's earlier attack and she saw that Itachi had Sora by the throat. "Sora!"

Sora didn't dare respond or move. _He could easily just kill me now. Why doesn't he do it already?_

Then out of nowhere, a kunai came right in between Sora and Itachi making him let go in surprise. Sora reacted quickly and sprung out of his reach towards Kurenai. At the same time, another blade came towards Hoshigaki forcing him to jump away from the exhausted Asuma. Then a voice was heard. "Well, well, well."

Sora recognized the voice. "Kakashi-sensei!" she exclaimed in relief. He appeared in front of her and Kurenai in a protective stance.

"What brings you back to Konoha, Itachi?" he said.

Hoshigaki walked over to Itachi. "One of your old buddies, eh, Itachi?" he said smiling wickedly.

Itachi didn't respond to his partner. "We didn't want to fight," he said to Kakashi.

"I see," Kakashi said faking amusement.

"All we are looking for is the Fourth's legacy," Itachi said ignoring Kakashi's sarcasm.

_Legacy?_ Kakashi thought. _Does he mean-?_

_So he's…not here for me?_ Sora thought. She breathed a sigh of relief. _But wait, he's still…_

"A boy by the name of Uzumaki," Itachi said seeing their expressions of confusion.

"Naruto?" Sora whispered softly enough so that only Kakashi and Kurenai could hear her. _What does he want with Naruto? I…I've got to warn him!_

"What do you want with him?" Kakashi asked gripping his kunai.

Itachi sighed. "Well, I see that you're not going to let us carry out our mission, Kakashi." His eyes turned from black to red. "Sharingan."

Sora's eyes widened. _This is bad. Even if Kakashi has the Sharingan as well, he's still not going to able to stand up to a pure blood Uchiha. Especially Sasuke's brother._

Kakashi pulled up his forehead protector revealing his own Sharingan. "Don't look into his eyes," he ordered the rest of his group. "Only I can handle this."

"Are you sure?" Itachi mocked. He quickly glanced at Sora but then refocused his attention to Kakashi.

"Ninpou Suiton Suijinheki (Water Wall)!" Kakashi said getting more power from the Sharingan to melt the ice covering the field to change to water for his technique. A huge wall of water rushed towards Itachi.

But Itachi seemed to disappear.

"Get back!" Kakashi yelled as he leaped forward to meet Itachi's attack.

Kurenai grabbed Sora and leaped backwards towards Asuma who was still badly bleeding. When they landed Kurenai placed Sora next to Asuma and stood ready in case Itachi or Hoshigaki would attack, but Hoshigaki only watched the battle between the two Sharingan users with a look of depraved amusement on his blue, metallic face.

When the water settled, Kakashi and Itachi were seen in a deadlock. Their blades were locked in a ferocious battle of pushing and scraping. Then they finally broke apart and each landed a few feet back on the wet grass. "Close your eyes, now!" Kakashi ordered the others. "He's going to use-"

"Tsukuyomi (God of the Moon)," Itachi said calmly and focused his Sharingan straight at Kakashi.

Sora and the two Konoha Jounins quickly closed their eyes. A few seconds later, they heard gasping and a thud of someone dropping to the ground. "Kakashi-sensei!" Sora shouted but didn't dare open her eyes. "What did you do to him?" she angrily demanded but didn't expect an answer.

"Sora," Kakashi's voice whispered. It sounded incredibly weakened. "Don't…" He couldn't finish and had to gasp for air.

"I made him go through 3 days worth of torture," Itachi said evenly and started walking forward.

"What?" Sora said.

"It's my special illusion technique that only a full blooded Uchiha can do with his Sharingan. The Copy Ninja can't use the Sharingan to its full power because he's not of my clan."

Sora shivered at his voice but decided that she was going to open her eyes. "Damn you!" she hissed as she opened her eyes. She kept her gaze down but saw Kakashi kneeling on the ground panting heavily. Then she ran forward not caring that Itachi could attack. _Kakashi-sensei!_ She caught his falling body right as he collapsed. She gently lowered him to the ground and tensed expecting some sort of attack from Itachi but it never came.

"HAHA!" another voice shouted as a figure wisped over Sora and Kakashi straight for Itachi.

Sora saw a pair of green legs land on the ground in between her and Itachi. "Huh?"

"Take this!"

_What?_ Itachi thought barely dodging the attack. _Another one?_

"Itachi!" Hoshigaki said readying his weapon.

"I know how to fight your stupid Sharingan!" the green-legged man said confidently. "It's all thanks to being Kakashi's rival for all these years."

Sora finally found the courage to look up. "Gai-sensei!"

Gai flashed a smile at Sora and gave a thumbs up. "You're getting the idea," he said to her. "Always keep your eyes down and use your peripheral vision to sense attacks."

Itachi backed away. _He's going to give us trouble,_ he thought. "Hoshigaki."

"Hm?"

"Let's go," he said. Then the two took off heading away from the village.

"Huh? Wait!" Gai called not having enough time to cut them off. "Ah, dammit."

"Gai!" Kurenai called. "We've got to get Kakashi and Asuma to the hospital right now!"  
"Uh, right!" Gai said. He quickly picked up Kakashi. "Asuma, do you have enough strength to teleport?"

Asuma nodded and the two were gone.

"Sora," Kurenai said.

Sora looked up.

"Go back to the village as quickly as you can and don't stop until you get there. I'm heading for back up." With that she left.

Sora got up and ran as quickly as she could after the teleported Jounins. She kept running until she reached the village then she slowed down to weave her way in and out of the crowd in the streets towards the hospital. Once she got to the building, she burst through the doors and ran up to the receptionist. "Where's," gasp, "Kakashi," gasp, "sensei?"

"Huh? Oh, uh," the receptionist was a little flustered. "He just came in a few minutes ago but he's in intensive care right now. I'm afraid you can't-"

"Just tell me where I can find him!" Sora pleaded.

"Uh," the woman flipped through her file. "He's in room 245, but-" Sora was gone. The woman sighed. "I probably shouldn't have done that." She shook her head and went back to work.

Sora ran up the stairs not bothering to take the elevator. Once she found the room in the intensive care unit, she found that the door was open and there were a number of nurses and doctors running around the room. Gai was still in the room as well. "Gai-sensei!" Sora gasped coming into the room.

"Sora!" Gai said in surprise. "You shouldn't have been able to get in-"

"How is he?" Sora interrupted. "Is he going to be ok?"

Gai saw the fear in her eyes. "Uh, he's…he's going to be out for a long time. I don't know when he'll be able to…" He trailed off. Although he was bitter rivals with Kakashi, it wasn't like Sasuke and Naruto where the two practically hated each other.

Sora was about to run over to Kakashi's bed but then upon seeing the frantic medics, she decided to stay in the corner with Gai. "But he will…wake up, right?" she barely whispered.

Gai looked down at the trembling girl and put a hand on her shoulder. "Of course he will," he said with a smile.

A few hours later, the doctors now declared that all they could do now was to wait for him to wake up even though they doubted it would be any time soon.

"Why's it going to take so long?" Sora asked the head doctor.

"The attack used on him was a mental attack," he said. "It's extremely dangerous and gives damage to not only his mind but his physical self as well."

"How is that possible?"

"If it really was Itachi he was fighting, it must have been some sort of immense torture. With his technique, he causes the feelings of the mind to become reality."

Sora shivered. _He really is as powerful as he seems,_ she thought.

"I'll be heading home then," Gai said patting Sora on the shoulder. "You should get some rest, too. You've had a tough day."

Sora smiled weakly. "Yeah, but I think I'll stay a little while longer."

Gai nodded. "Of course. Just don't get home too late."

Everyone eventually left the room leaving Sora alone with her unconscious sensei. She pulled up a chair so that she could sit right next to his bed. She gently picked up his limp hand. "Sensei," she said in an extremely small voice. She stroked his hand lightly and let her mind wander. _So this Itachi is going after Naruto,_ she thought. _He said something about the Fourth's legacy. I wonder what that means…it must have something to do with the Nine-Tailed Fox. _She shivered at the thought. _I wonder where he is…_

The morning came and a nurse walked in to find Sora asleep with her head beside Kakashi on the bed, their hands still connected. She quietly checked the stats on the screen next to the bed so as not to wake her up and then left with a small smile on her face.

A few minutes later, Sora groggily opened her eyes. _Wha…where am I?_ She sat up and let go of Kakashi's hand to rub her eyes. _Oh, yeah. I must've fallen asleep here._ She looked at her sensei. His breathing was much more normal than it had been yesterday and he didn't look as pale. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, I'll head home and wash up, ok?" she said knowing he probably couldn't hear her. "I'll come back later." With that she gave a final squeeze to his hand and left the room.

Sora headed home and found her door open. She gasped in alarm. _Did someone break in?_ She ran in and saw that her couch was turned over then it all came back. _Oh…_ A piece of paper on her table caught her eye and she picked it up. It was a bill. She blushed in embarrassment. _Well, I knew this was coming sometime or another._ She sighed and pulled the couch back in front of her door. _I'll get the locksmith to fix it._ She took a quick shower and ate a light breakfast. Then she ran out of her apartment and went straight to the locksmith's. Once she gave him the details and payment, she left to find Naruto.

Upon arriving at her teammate's apartment, she put her ear against the door expecting to hear snoring but instead she heard silence. _Huh, that's strange,_ she thought. She knocked on the door. "Naruto? It's me, Sora." There was no reply. _It's not like him to be out so early. I wonder if he's training._ After a few more knocks and calls, she left to find the spot where he usually trained with his new sensei. No one was there. _What?_ Now she was getting worried. _What if Itachi's already got to him? What if he was kidnapped?_ She worked herself into a frenzy. _I…I've got to find him!_ She raced back to the main part of the village and jumped up to the roof tops. Her eyes searched the area frantically for any sign of her blonde friend.

After a while of searching and coming up with nothing, she sat down on a bench in the garden facing the fountain. _Dammit,_ she thought as she rested. _Where is he?_

"Sora-chan!"

"Huh?" She looked up. "Hinata!"

"Wow, it's been a while since I've been able to talk to you!" Hinata said sitting down next to her. "Are you ok?" She could tell that something was bothering Sora.

Sora contemplated telling Hinata all of her troubles but decided against it. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine. How about you? Have your injuries healed?"

Hinata raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I've gotten a lot better since the preliminaries. I was at the final matches but I must've passed out or something."

"What?"

"I don't remember anything passed the point where Sasuke and Gaara were fighting…Then I woke up and I was back in the hospital."

Sora breathed a sigh of relief. "How long have you been out?"

"I got out the day before yesterday. They told me about the Hokage's death and Orochimaru's attack on the village. I must've slept through the entire thing," Hinata said. "I feel guilty I wasn't able to do anything to help."

"Don't feel guilty!" Sora said automatically. "It's not your fault at all."

Hinata looked down and started playing with her hair. She bit her lower lip. "I wanted so badly to compete in the Chuunin matches…I wasn't strong enough for that."

Sora put an arm around Hinata and gave her a quick squeeze. "Don't think like that. The whole Chuunin exam was canceled because of the attack anyway so I don't think anyone passed."

Hinata remained silent for a while but then spoke. "It was unfortunate…there were so many strong competitors this year like you."

Sora blushed. "No, I just beat Ino out of luck I think." She smiled. "Next time we'll both pass."

Hinata smiled and looked up but then her expression immediately changed to worry. "Sora," she said softly. "Tell me what's wrong, please?"

Sora was a little shocked. "Uh…" _How does she…well, she is a Hyuuga…_ "I'm just a little stressed is all."

Hinata didn't say anything and looked at Sora with her crystal clear eyes.

Sora shifted uneasily on the bench. "Oh, fine." She sighed and rubbed her temples out of habit. "I'm just…everything's so complicated now." She paused to think of how she would tell Hinata. "It's…it's my whole team." Then the words came flooding out. "The whole attack on Konoha was because Orochimaru was after Sasuke. And then Naruto's in danger because Sasuke's brother, Itachi is after him and I have no idea where he is. And then Kakashi-sensei's in the hospital right now and no one knows when he'll wake up." She stopped to catch her breath. She didn't want to tell Hinata about her little promise to kill Itachi or about the other things of her past that still haunted her. Her face flushed in embarrassment and she looked away.

Hinata was shocked. "Sora," she said softly. "I didn't know…I mean, I'm sorry…" Then something hit her. "But I can tell you where Naruto-kun is!"

Sora's head shot up. "Really? Where?"  
"He's off on some sort of training mission or something with his new sensei, that white-haired guy."

Sora breathed a sigh of relief. _Good, he's with Jiraiya…but what if he's not strong enough to keep _him_ away? What if-?_

"Sora?" Hinata said shaking her shoulder slightly. "Please don't worry too much about Naruto-kun. He's gotten much stronger than before. I…" She blushed.

Sora eyed Hinata. "You what?"

"Uh…" Hinata took her hand away from Sora's shoulder and started playing with a strand of her purple hair again. "I talked to him before his match against my cousin…I could just sense that he was so much stronger than before." Her blush grew even deeper.

Sora had to smile. It was obvious who Hinata had a crush on. She sighed. _Naruto…maybe this time away from him is good for both of us. He's probably too naïve to notice Hinata's feelings._ "You're right," she said. "I worry too much." She said it but she didn't fully believe it.

Hinata nodded her head and stood up. "I need to get back to my house right now though. Father said that the doctor would be coming to check up on me."

The mention of a doctor reminded Sora of her hospitalized sensei. "Yeah, you should go then," Sora said also getting to her feet. "Get better soon, ok?"

Hinata nodded her head again. "Thanks." She waved goodbye and ran off towards her home.

Sora waved until she was out of sight. _Ok,_ she thought. _So Naruto's temporarily safe, but…_ She turned towards the hospital again and took off. Once she arrived, she checked in with the receptionist who said that Kakashi had been moved to a normal hospital room and was not in intensive care anymore but he was still unconscious. Sora made her way to Kakashi's hospital room but before she got there, she saw that the door was open and she heard voices.

"If it really is as Asuma said-"

"I don't think he would lie."

"But it's just so unreal. We just got attacked by Orochimaru and now this?"

"I don't doubt that it is him," a familiar female voice said sternly.

Sora recognized it as Anko's voice. _What's going on here?_ She cautiously walked up to the door and knocked even though it was open. She saw Anko, Gemma, and a few other Jounins she didn't know surrounding Kakashi's bed. "Um, hello?" she said.

The Jounins turned to look at her. _Oh, it's Kousetsu, isn't it,_ Anko thought recognizing her face. "Sora, what are you doing here?" she asked sternly.

Sora gulped. "Uh, I was just coming to visit Kakashi-sensei but I'll leave if-"

"No, stay," Anko said before any of the other Jounins could answer. "I think you should know this."

Sora nodded and fully entered the room but didn't go to Kakashi's side like she wanted to. She was too nervous in the presence of all these Konoha Jounins.

"Anko-sama," one of the Jounins Sora didn't recognize began to say.

"It's ok," she replied curtly. "Sora, you should know that Kakashi's attacker, Uchiha Itachi is your teammate Uchiha Sasuke's brother."

Sora nodded her head.

"He's had an incredible history as a Konoha ninja but he is definitely more powerful than before. If he could cause this much damage to Hatake, he is not someone to be taken lightly."

Sora nodded again.

"We also know about Sasuke's hatred for him. He's too dangerous for him or any Genin to get near. Since you're his teammate and Kakashi is out for now, we must ask you to watch him carefully and make sure he doesn't try and find him." Anko sighed. "And then there's Uzumaki Naruto, also your teammate, correct?"

"Yes."

"From the information we gathered from Kurenai and Asuma, Uchiha and his partner, Kisame Hoshigaki are members of a group that call themselves Akatsuki. They're a gang of dangerous criminals and most of their members are wanted in more than one country. They have all been able to avoid capture for quite some time now and we have no idea what they are up to except for the fact that they are after Naruto."

"Naruto is with Jiraiya-sensei right now I believe," Sora said.

"Jiraiya?" Anko asked surprised.

Sora nodded her head. _She knows him? _

Then someone appeared in the doorway. The Jounins turned to face the newcomer ready to attack if necessary but they found it was Sasuke.

"Sasuke!" Sora gasped in surprise.

"Sora?" Sasuke said equally surprised.

"Uchiha," Anko said quickly. "We need for you to-"

"Anko-sama!" a voice called from the hallway. Another Jounin appeared at the door. "We just found out that Naruto and Jiraiya-sama are on their way to Shikuba and Itachi was sighted following them!"

The whole room tensed in an awkward silence with each person thinking the same thing except Sasuke. His eyes shot wide open. "What?" _He's after Naruto?_

_Oh no,_ Sora thought and began running towards Sasuke but he quickly turned from the door and sprinted down the hall. "Sasuke!" she yelled.

"Uh," the Jounin that had blurted said confused.

"You shouldn't have said that in front of Uchiha!" Anko snapped.

Sora ran down the hall after Sasuke but he was already gone. _He's going to follow them and try to kill him!_ she thought and pushed herself to go faster. She skidded into the wall while trying to turn to go down the stairs but she pushed herself off and flew down the steps. She didn't bother checking out and saw that the hospital door was still swinging. She ran outside and looked for any sign of him. _Shoot, shoot, shoot,_ she thought shielding her eyes from the sun. _Where did that guy say that Naruto…oh yeah, Shikuba!_ She ran to the nearest store and went immediately to the map section. She grabbed one off the rack and scanned quickly through the names and found the small town of Shikuba. She put the map back and ran out again. _Crap, I wasted so much time! He's probably already halfway there!_ She ran towards the gate of the village and practically flew through the door into the wilderness.

After running at top speed for a while, Sora stopped to catch her breath and read a sign. It said, "Shikuba Town: 3 miles" and it pointed north. Sora took a deep breath and started running again. Soon she was able to see the outskirts of the small town. She entered the town and slowed down a little to try and see if she could find Sasuke or Naruto. "Sasuke! Naruto!" she called as she ran through the streets.

She ran to a hotel and up to the front desk. "Uh, excuse me!" she panted as she rang the bell.

A young woman approached the desk slowly yawning. "Can I help you?" she asked lazily.

"Yes, did a guy about my age with blond hair and an older man with spiky white hair check in here?" Sora asked quickly.

"Uh, blond hair?" the woman questioned slowly. "I don't think so…when would they have checked in?"

Sora clenched her fist. "Maybe today or yesterday?"

"Let me check." The woman flipped through some papers taking what seemed to Sora hours. "Sorry, I don't think I can remember any blond boy or a white-haired man."

Sora was about to scream but she kept her cool. "But have you seen a black-haired boy my age around today probably asking the same questions as me?" she asked quickly.

The girl immediately reacted with a small blush. "Uh, yeah, there was in fact."

Sora leaned forward on the counter. "Which way did he go?" she demanded.

"Uh," the girl stuttered surprised at the sudden change in Sora. "He just ran out and I think he turned to the right…"

Sora was gone. She ran to the next inn she saw and repeated the process of asking if they had seen a blond boy, white-haired man, or a black-haired boy. At every single inn she went to, she kept getting the same answers every single time. Finally she stopped running to catch her breath. "Where the crap are they?" she asked herself frustrated. Then an inn that she hadn't been in yet caught her eye. She inhaled slowly and entered. She walked up to counter. No one was there. "Hello?" she called and rang the bell.

There was silence for a while and then an older man came out. "Why, hello," he said cheerfully.

"Do you have a blonde boy and a white-haired man here?" Sora asked.

"Why, yes," the man said. "In fact, a young man was just in here asking the same question but he ran up the stairs once I told him that we had-"

A loud crash came from the upper floors and the whole building shook. Bits of wood and plaster fell onto the street outside. "Oh, no," Sora whispered to herself and took off towards the stairs.

"What the hell?" the man asked running out of the building thinking that there was some sort of earthquake.

Sora took the stairs two by two as she ran. She finally made it to the third floor and saw some smoke through the small window on the door. She skidded to a halt and burst through the door. She tried to yell but inhaled too much smoke and clamped a hand around her mouth to keep herself from coughing. After she could breathe normally again, she looked up. The dust had somewhat cleared and she saw the outline of Naruto who was standing in the hallway trying to look through the dust. She also saw the familiar robed figures of Itachi and his partner, and Sasuke. His wrist was being held by Itachi through a humongous hole in the wall. His hand was still glowing with blue static shocks.

_He must've used the Chidori,_ Sora thought as she began to advance towards the group. No one seemed to have noticed her yet.

"I don't have time for you," she heard Itachi say quietly. "You're just getting in the way." Then he moved his hand holding Sasuke's wrist.

"AHHH!" Sasuke cried in pain as a loud crack echoed through the hall.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled.

Sasuke's wrist was completely broken now making him unable to use the Chidori anymore. Itachi swung him upwards and punched his cheek sending him backwards towards Sora.

"Sasuke!" Sora gasped and reacted just quickly enough to catch him. The force sent her back as well and she felt her body crash up against the back wall.

"Sora?" Naruto said finally noticing she was there.

Itachi and Hoshigaki both turned slightly to see Sora holding onto a shaken Sasuke. _She's here,_ Itachi thought but then turned back towards Naruto. "Come quietly now or shall we have to force you?" he spoke to Naruto.

Naruto quickly reverted his gaze back to Itachi. "You bastard!" he spat.

Sasuke then shook his head roughly and wiped the blood from his mouth. He got out of Sora's grasp and stood up. "Naruto, I told you not to interfere!" he yelled and ran down the hall again towards his older brother.

"Sasuke, no!" Sora yelled and ran after him but it was too late.

"AHHH!" Sasuke shouted powering up for a punch.

Itachi narrowed his eyes and blocked Sasuke's powerful punch with ease and quickly twisted Sasuke around and punched him in the stomach. Sasuke coughed up some saliva and couldn't move, but Itachi wasn't done yet. He kneed Sasuke's head as Sasuke was keeling over sending more blood out of his mouth. Then he picked Sasuke up and kicked him the chest sending him back again to the wall. Sasuke hit the wall completely immobile from the pain and slumped over on the floor.

Sora had stopped running and felt a wind rush by her as Itachi passed her and went straight for Sasuke again. He was so fast she couldn't even see him pass. Then she realized. "Wait, stop!" she pleaded.

"Sora, stay back!" Naruto shouted as a red aurora surrounded. Then he turned towards Itachi. "I'll rip you to pieces!" he snarled, but then his Chakra seemed to disappear. "What?"

Hoshigaki had stepped forward with his weapon revealed. "My sword, Samehada, has the power to devour any Chakra I will it to," he said laughing evilly. "Including yours no matter how powerful you are."

Naruto narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists. _Dammit,_ he thought.

Itachi ignored what was happening behind him and gripped Sasuke by the neck, lifted him up, and slammed him against the wall. He leaned his head in. "You weak, pathetic, fool," he whispered into the barely conscious Sasuke's ear. "You lack power because you can't hate me."

Sasuke clenched his teeth. _Move, goddammit!_ he screamed at himself but couldn't even twitch his finger. _I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!_

"Mangekyou Sharingan," Itachi said as his eyes flashed red.

"AHH!" Sasuke screamed in horror as his eyes shot open.

"You will relive that day for the next 24 hours," Itachi said and watched his brother's eyes roll back into his head.

"Ninpou Gamaguchi Shibari (Frog Mouth Trap)!" Jiraiya's voice sounded through the hall.

"Huh? Jiraiya-sensei!" Naruto said.

The walls of the hallway were now growing some soft sticky red coating on them. Sasuke seemed to melt back into the red mass on the wall and Itachi let him go to turn to face Jiraiya.

"Itachi, Hoshigaki," Jiraiya scowled. "I thought I might meet up with you two here."

"This could be troublesome," Hoshigaki said as he tried to take a step back but found that Samehada was stuck to the ground. "This damned frog mouth…"

Itachi seemed to be rethinking his plan but remained calm.

"What do you want with Naruto?" Jiraiya demanded already knowing the answer but wanting confirmation.

"The Akatsuki leader has need of him," Itachi said.

"I see that," Jiraiya said. "But you will not get away."

Itachi and Hoshigaki quickly nodded their heads at each other and took off running. Jiraiya directed the frog stomach on the walls to shoot out to cut the two off from escaping.

"They're gonna get away at this rate!" Naruto screamed attempting to run after them but his feet were also caught in the frog trap.

"Don't worry. They shouldn't be able to break through my technique," Jiraiya said with confidence and pulled Naruto out of the trap. He then walked over to a stunned Sora and pulled her out as well. "Let's go see what we've caught." He bounded through the hall and rounded the corner, but he didn't see two captured figures like he thought he'd see. Instead there was a humongous hole in the wall with a black fire around its edges. The two Akatsuki members were nowhere to be seen. _What? He could break through?_ Jiraiya thought as he put Sora and Naruto down. He walked up to the hole inspecting the fire.

"What's that?" Naruto asked coming up behind the white-haired man.

"Stay back," Jiraiya said in a low voice. Naruto stopped in his tracks. Jiraiya took out a scroll and began writing on it. Then he placed his hand on the scroll and said, "Fuuinjutsu Fuukahouin (Sealing Technique, Fire Suppressor)!" The black fire still burning on the hole swirled around in the air and gathered in the scroll. New marks appeared on the scroll as Jiraiya sealed off the technique. He quickly rolled up the scroll and tucked it away in one of his pouches. "I'm surprised he was powerful enough to get out of my technique," he said to himself mostly and shook his head looking amused.

"What?" Naruto yelled. "He got away and you're not even angry that he could get out of this frog mouth thing?"

Sora had meanwhile walked cautiously back to where Sasuke was still in the frog wall. The wall began to go back to normal and Sasuke reappeared. She slowly lowered him down on the ground. He was completely unconscious. "Naruto, we've got to get him help," she said using a cloth from her pouch to wipe the blood from Sasuke's face.

"I agree," Jiraiya said walking over to Sora. Naruto stopped talking and followed closely behind. "It looks like a lot of his ribs are broken as well as his arm. Plus he was attacked mentally as well. This doesn't look good."

Sora shivered at the mention of the mental attack. _Is Sasuke going to end up like Kakashi-sensei, too?_ she asked herself. "Will he be ok though?" she asked out loud.

Jiraiya looked at her. "There is only one medic able to heal these kinds of injuries besides time."

"Who?" Naruto asked.

"Tsunade."

"Tsunade?" Naruto and Sora asked at the same time.

Jiraiya nodded his head thoughtfully. "She was a teammate of mine back when we were young, as was Orochimaru."

"What?" Naruto said.

"Yes," Jiraiya continued. "The three of us make up what they call the Legendary Sannin." Then out of nowhere came a shout.

"HOOWAAAAHH!" A figure flew through the air and a foot came in contact with Jiraiya's face.

"WHA?" Sora gasped in surprise. Then the figure landed.

"Take that!" he said in triumph as he stood up.

"G-Gai-sensei?" Naruto shouted. "WHAT THE HECK?"

Gai looked down at the swrily-eyed Jiraiya and sweat-dropped. "Uh, oops. Hehe," he laughed nervously and put a hand behind his head. "I guess I mistook him for the villain."

Sora rolled her eyes and Naruto's mouth hung open. "How could you mistake the Perverted Hermit for that bastard of a brother?" Naruto practically screamed.

"Well," Gai said putting his hand under his chin in a dramatic pose. "I used my forehead protector as a mirror to see around the corner because I wanted to do a surprise attack. As I found out, the protector is made of a metal that isn't the best at reflecting so I could only see shady figures. I saw your and Sora's figures and could tell that you weren't the villains because you were much shorter, but when I saw Jiraiya-sama's I thought he was…uh, hehe, sorry."

Then Jiraiya sat up groggily and wiped some drool off of his mouth. "Wha happened?" he asked stupidly.

"Sir! I am sorry to have attacked you! I mistook you for the enemy and I thought I could ambush-"

Jiraiya held up a hand and shook his head. "Fine, fine," he mumbled. "Just get this kid and let's get out of this hotel." The others nodded and Gai picked up Sasuke. Soon the group was outside of the building.

"I will take Sasuke back to the village for medical treatment," Gai said.

"Good," Jiraiya said. "It seems that we now have to find Tsunade. I doubt that any of the medics in Konoha now can counter an attack from Itachi."

"Agreed," Gai said.

"Uh, I'll go back with Sasuke and Gai-sensei, then," Sora said nervously not meaning to interrupt.

"Hm," Jiraiya said focusing his gaze on Sora. For once he wasn't thinking anything perverted. "I think you should come with Naruto and me to find Tsunade."

"Wha-why?" Sora asked taken aback.

Jiraiya smiled. _If what Sarutobi-sensei said was true, then I should definitely keep a close eye on her,_ he thought.

"You mean we're gonna come with you on like a mission?" Naruto asked getting excited.

"Something like that," Jiraiya said.

"All right!" Naruto said making a fist. "We'll find this Tsunade and then she'll be able to heal Sasuke and Lee and the others!"  
Sora didn't really want to go but she couldn't refuse. She was worried about Kakashi and Sasuke but then she was also worried about Naruto. _But he's with this powerful Sannin, so he should be ok. Why does he want me to go with him?_

"Ok, but before you go," Gai said getting something out from his pack. It was a green rubbery looking thing. "Naruto, I think you deserve this!" He presented it to Naruto with a shiny smile.

Naruto's eyes widened. "Is that…?"

"Yes!" Gai said enthusiastically. "It is the suit of the Green Beast of Konoha. Lee has found it to be the perfect outfit for fighting to his maximum potential! I believe you are ready to improve your technique and this suit will help you achieve that goal!" He gave a thumbs-up sign.

Naruto took the green rubber in his hands and stared at it wonderingly. "Wow! Thank you, Gai-sensei!" He gave him a thumbs-up sign and smiled showing off his flashy, white teeth.

Gai smiled broader and his teeth shined in the sunlight as well.

Sparkles and pings went off around the two of them as they smiled at each other each holding up his thumb. Sora and Jiraiya sweat-dropped. "Er-herm!" Jiraiya fake cleared his throat to get Naruto's attention. "We should get going now." He turned to leave and signaled for Sora to follow.

"Come on, Naruto," Sora said shaking her head.

"Coming!" Naruto said happily. Gai walked down the street and turned to wave at them one last time and then disappeared.  
Once Naruto and Sora caught up with Jiraiya, Naruto began playing with the green suit. "Hey, Sora!" he said happily sizing it up against himself. "Do ya think this'll make me even better looking than before?"

"Uh-"

"Naruto!" Jiraiya interrupted. "I won't be caught dead walking around with you if you put that thing on!"

"Humph," Naruto said and grudgingly put it away. "I bet you're jealous!"

Jiraiya decided to drop the subject. "Let's just go on to the next village. I believe Tsunade should be somewhere there."

"How do you know?" Sora asked.

"Well, it's known for its many casinos and gambling houses, that's why."

"Huh?"

"I guess each of us three Sannin have fallen for one of the three great temptations," Jiraiya mused.

"What are they?" Naruto asked.

"Well, power, money, and women," Jiraiya said.

_What?_ Sora thought with a twitching eyebrow. _He's still that perverted, old…why am I going along with him again?_

Naruto scrunched up his face. "I'll never fall for any of those temptations!" he declared. "I'll become the epitome of a ninja and won't stand to fall to any weakness!"

Sora rolled her eyes. "Naruto, Naruto," she muttered.

"Hm? Sora?" Naruto asked hearing her.

"Oh, nothing," she said and continued staring straight ahead. _I didn't bring any supplies with me,_ she thought. _How am I going to pay for food or shelter?_

"Well, if you want to become the so called 'epitome' of a ninja," Jiraiya said, "I'm going to teach you that move I promised you I would."

"The one you said was more powerful than the Chidori?" Naruto asked excited to no end. "Finally!"  
_More powerful?_ Sora thought.

"Tell me how to do it now so I can start training!" Naruto said.

Jiraiya laughed. _He's a little too eager sometimes,_ he thought. "Well, this is a move called the Rasengan."

"What?" Sora couldn't keep quiet at that. "Rasengan? But that's-"

"Yes," Jiraiya said. "It was the Fourth's most powerful technique."

"But only he could do that technique!" Sora said.

"Ah, yes, but I was his sensei," Jiraiya said smiling proudly.

Sora's eyes widened. _He was the Fourth's sensei?_

"No way!" Naruto exclaimed. "This is so cool! You think I'm strong enough to learn the Fourth Hokage's special move?"

"Well, I think that you might have a-"

"ALL RIGHT!" Naruto shouted. "How do I start? I can get this in no time!"

"Naruto," Sora said exasperated. "It took the Fourth almost three years to learn this move!"

"What?"

"You can't just take this technique like all those other ones you've learned. It's a completely different rank!" Sora said.

"Hm, how do you know so much about the art of Chakra if you were born without it?" Jiraiya asked.

The group stopped walking. _Oh crap,_ Sora thought. Her little lie of not having Chakra from birth came back to haunt her. _I swear I will never lie again…_ Sora thought miserably.

"What?" Naruto asked. "That's not true!"  
"Hm, I thought not," Jiraiya said.

Sora beat herself up mentally. _Stupid, stupid, stupid…_ "Ok, ok, I lied!" she finally said. "But it looks like you already know what happened to me anyway." She looked to side embarrassed.

"Now you know my reason for wanting you to come along," Jiraiya said.

Naruto looked back and forth between Sora and Jiraiya pretty confused. "What's going on here?" he asked.

Sora put a hand on his arm and forced a small smile. "Forget it," she said. "Let's just find this Tsunade as soon as possible. Kakashi-sensei is also in the hospital from fighting with Itachi."

"What?"  
Sora nodded. "The sooner this mission is over the better."

Naruto nodded and the three continued their walk to the next town. They arrived sooner than they thought. It was a very festive town with many people wandering about everywhere even though it was pretty late already. They checked into a hotel but didn't stay since Jiraiya said that he wanted to look around for Tsunade for a while.

As they went back into the streets, Naruto's mood went back to being excited as he looked around at all the stands steaming with delicious looking food and fun games he wanted to try out. He drew out his pouch with all of his money in it and smiled with glee. "This place is awesome!" he said getting out some money. He was actually quite well-off from all the pointless missions he had done with his team. "I'll buy you dinner tonight, Sora!"

Sora started. "Uh-"

"Hey, Perverted Hermit, since it's pretty late anyway, can Sora and I just hang around here for a while then?"

"Huh?" Jiraiya said looking at Naruto holding the money. "Hey! Remember what I said about the three taboos?" He swiped the wallet away from Naruto.

"Hey!"  
"I'm just making sure that you don't lose sight of your goal of being the 'epitome' of the ninja," Jiraiya said tucking the wallet away. "You've got quite enough money in your hands right now and you don't need any more." With that he left them.

"That's my money though!" Naruto said getting a little frustrated.

Sora smiled slightly. "It's ok, Naruto."

"But I bet he's going to go and spend it all!"

"I don't think he would do that," Sora said kindly. Jiraiya hadn't said anything or acted perverted all day and Sora was beginning to respect him a little more. "I'll pay you back when we get home, ok?"

"What? No way!" Naruto said completely dismissing the absence of his wallet in his pouch now. "My treat!"

"Naruto-"

He grabbed her by the hand and pulled her behind him as they weaved their way in and out of the busy streets. Naruto indeed had quite a bit of money and bought a bucketload of food for the two of them. Sora had insisted on getting at least one healthier thing but the rest were mostly treats and junk food. They sat down at a public resting area in much better spirits than before. Soon they were laughing and joking. Everything seemed to be back to normal. After eating, they ended up wandering the streets looking at the different displays and stands full of merchandise. Naruto saw a kunai throwing game and had to try it. He also saw that one of the prizes was a bracelet advertised to be worth six million yen. "Come on, Sora! I'll get you that bracelet!"

"Naruto, you don't have-"

"But I want to!" Naruto insisted and pulled Sora over to the stand.

"We should be getting back to the hotel soon," Sora said.

"Don't worry, this won't take too long," Naruto said and winked. "How much to play?" he asked the man behind the counter.

"That's five yen for ten kunai," the man said. "If you hit all ten targets you get to choose any prize you want out of the stand!"

"All right," Naruto said taking out five coins. He exchanged them for ten kunais. "I'm ready."

The man hit the start button and a target moved fairly slowly across the back of the stand. Naruto threw the kunai and easily hit the target right in the middle. "Haha," he said beginning to feel confident. "I hope it gets harder than this!"

Sora smiled shakily at the man behind the counter and shook her head. "'Pride cometh before a fall,'" she quoted.

Naruto laughed as he hit the next target that had come quite a bit more quickly, but it was nothing compared to ninja training. Next came two targets from opposite ends. They zigzagged across the stand at a decent speed but once again, Naruto hit each of them dead center. Then came two more but they were twirling, going in a random pattern, and moving much more quickly. Naruto concentrated with his eyes and let his kunai fly. Each knife found its mark.

A crowd had now gathered around Naruto and Sora. This game had a reputation of being impossible to beat and everyone was impressed that Naruto hadn't missed yet. They began rooting Naruto on and talked amongst themselves about his amazing accuracy.

Naruto was now getting incredibly confident. "Bring it on!" he said smiling at Sora. Sora laughed. This time three targets came flying out of nowhere it seemed and raced across the wall. They were flashing bright colors for distractions as they spun and hit each other. The bouncing made them go even faster. They were almost just blurs of light.

"I don't think anyone's gotten past this part," Naruto heard a guy say to his friend.

Naruto concentrated all he had on the swirling lights as they zipped across the back of the stand and then he let three kunais fly. The crowd gasped as they nailed the wall. "HA!" Naruto said and the crowd cheered. He had hit all three targets.

"Wow, Naruto!" Sora said impressed. "You've gotten much better at throwing. Is that something Jiraiya taught you or did you train yourself?"

"I trained myself!" Naruto said proudly. "That prize is as good as yours!"

Sora blushed and smiled nervously.

"One more to go," the man said. "You have to hit the black one this time."

Naruto nodded his head. He had one more kunai. _If there's only going to be one target then it's probably going to be incredibly difficult to get._ Sure enough, a whole bunch of swirling, flashing lights went zipping around on the stand wall. "What?" he said automatically.

_Whoa, this game _is_ hard,_ Sora thought as she tried to scan the wall for the black target the man had told Naruto he needed to hit. _It would be hard for even a Jounin to hit._

Then at almost the same time, Sora and Naruto spotted the black target. It was smaller than the rest and it was moving extremely quickly so it was incredibly difficult to see amongst the other flashing ones. "HAH!" Naruto shouted as he threw the kunai at an incredible speed.

The crowd held its breath as the kunai zipped through the air. Then they heard a plunk and they scanned the board for where Naruto had thrown his kunai. It was almost silent.

The man behind the stand turned off the machine that made the targets move and flash and the stand wall became still. Then a little boy shouted, "There it is! He hit it!" The crowd gasped in awe as they looked to where the little boy was pointing. Sure enough, Naruto's kunai had stabbed directly though the little black target.

"OH YEAH!" Naruto shouted and grabbed Sora into a hug.

"Naruto, that was amazing!" Sora said and hugged him back. _He has gotten better at throwing and concentrating._

"Whoa, that was like awesome, man!" "Are you some sort of specialist or something at knife throwing?" "I wish I could do that…"

The man behind the counter shook his head in disbelief and smiled. "You are the first to ever hit all the targets. Very impressive. You definitely deserve any of these prizes."

Naruto, keeping one arm around Sora, pointed to the very expensive looking bracelet that was inside of a glass case. "That'll do nicely," he said acting like he was some rich guy at a high class jewelry store.

The man nodded his head and carefully took out the bracelet. "You've got expensive taste, sir," he said chuckling. He put the bracelet in a box and handed it to Naruto. "That bracelet's made of pure platinum and the diamonds and emeralds in it are one hundred percent uncontaminated."

Naruto was beaming as he took the box carefully. "Wow, thanks!" Naruto said. Then he led Sora away from the stand and the crowd of people. They began walking towards their hotel and were soon away from the noise and bustle of the festivities. "Here," he said placing the box in Sora's hand.

"Naruto," Sora said blushing. "I can't accept this!"

"Hey, I said I'd get you a prize. You deserve the best," he said nuzzling her neck.

Sora pushed him away but made it look playful. "But did you see how much it was worth?" Sora asked.

Naruto smirked and grabbed Sora in an embrace. He slipped the box into Sora's pouch as he lightly kissed her cheek. "You're worth more," he said in a soft voice and leaned his forehead against hers. He smiled.

Sora was shocked at his actions. She didn't push away like she wanted to and surprised herself by smiling. "Naruto," she started to say but Naruto brought a finger to her lips. Then he slowly leaned forward and captured her lips in a passionate kiss. Sora's mind went blurry and she automatically closed her eyes and let Naruto kiss her.

He moved one of his hands behind her head and pushed forward to deepen the connection as he nipped her lip wanting her to part her lips. Sora obeyed without much of a struggle and allowed Naruto to slip his tongue into her mouth. Naruto slid his tongue over every part of Sora's mouth as he continued to push for more. Finally they had to break for air. Both were panting. "God, Sora," he whispered once he caught his breath.

Sora closed her eyes as she panted. _What's wrong with me?_ she mentally screamed at herself but her physical self remained speechless.

Naruto smiled and let his hand slip down to grasp hers. "Let's get some rest," he said and led her into the hotel. They checked in and made their way up the stairs in a strange but comfortable silence. Once they were in their room which had two separate bedrooms, a bathroom, and a main room, Naruto switched on the lights but still kept one of his hands holding Sora's. "You go ahead and wash first," he said kissing her cheek.

Sora was still in a state of shock but nodded her head. She quickly went into the bathroom with a slight blush on her face and closed the door. She turned on the vent and the cold water in the shower and leaned against the wall. Her mind was a swirl of emotion and confusion. The water hitting the wall of the shower filtered through the back of her mind as she stared at the floor. _I'm such a hypocrite,_ she finally thought. _And to think I was just talking to Hinata-chan today. And Sasuke…I feel so…_ She shook her head and stripped off her clothes. She took a quick, cold shower and then dried herself off. She found that there were bathrobes in the bathroom closet so she put her undergarments back on since they were the only ones she had brought and slipped on the robe on. Then she used the toothbrush and paste provided by the hotel to brush her teeth. There was also a comb in one of the drawers.

She blankly stared into the mirror as she ran the teeth of the comb through her hair. They went through smoothly and her hair became almost completely straight. "Naruto-kun," Sora said softly. She laid the comb down and turned to face the door. She took a deep breath and then opened it softly. Peeking her head around the corner she saw that Naruto was asleep on the couch snoring peacefully. Sora smiled slightly and decided that she wouldn't wake him up. She quietly slipped into one of the bedrooms and shut the door. _Hopefully Jiraiya doesn't come back too late,_ she thought. _And hopefully he'll be sober._


	10. Part X: The Sannin Legacy Part 1

Part X: The Sannin Legacy Section 1 

As usual, Sora woke early the next morning. The sun was filtering into the room with a soft, pleasant glow. She turned over on her bed and faced the window allowing her face to fully capture the sun's rays. It had been a surprisingly relaxing, dreamless sleep which Sora was deeply grateful for. Thoughts of not getting up drifted across her mind as she stared blankly into the light, but with a sigh she forced herself to sit up. She sat in silence for a while staring at the blankets covering her lap then she heard the door open. She looked up. "Naruto?"

"Morning," he said. He entered the room and walked over to the bed. "Surprised to see me up so early?"

Sora blinked in shock but then nodded in response. "Uh, sorry," she mumbled as a blush crept across her face.

Naruto smiled and sat down next to Sora swinging his legs up on the bed. "How was your sleep?"

"Very nice," Sora said regaining her composure. "And yours?"

"I slept like a log!" he said leaning back against the dashboard with his hands behind his head. "This town's actually really quiet if you get away from the main streets."

Sora nodded and sighed. "It is." She automatically remembered the events of the evening before. How she and Naruto had had a wonderful time wandering the streets of the town eating, talking, laughing… It was almost like they were just normal people with a night to relax and nothing to worry about. Sora closed her eyes and a small smile crept across her face.

Naruto looked over at his red-haired teammate and smirked. He sat up a little and wrapped his arms around Sora from behind.

"Naruto-"

"Come on," he said softly as he brought her down so that she was leaning against him. "Let's just relax a little more." He pulled her body closer and leaned his head against the top of hers. Her hair still smelled strongly of the shampoo from the hotel mixed with Sora's naturally sweet scent. He couldn't help but move his hand up to run his fingers through the silky strands.

Sora shivered at his touch but didn't resist. Somehow at that moment it felt right to be held by Naruto. _It feels right to be held by Naruto, _her mind repeated. _It feels…_ "Naruto-kun?" she whispered softly as if she was afraid to break the serene silence that surrounded them.

"Hm?"

"Shouldn't we be getting up soon?" she asked timidly. She was glad that she was facing away from Naruto because her face had flared up again. _Why am I feeling like this? It's just Naruto…_

"Aw, Sora-chan," Naruto whined and sunk down bringing Sora with him so that he was lying completely on his back. Then he turned to his side so that he could hold her more tightly. "Just five more minutes," he said as he nuzzled her neck.

Sora became tense. "Naruto," she said. "I don't think that-"

Naruto cut her off by loosening the knot that held her robe on and slipping a hand under the cloth. His fingers ran across her smooth, sensitive stomach causing Sora to unintentionally gasp. He began suckling the skin on her neck tasting the soft sweetness.

"Naruto!" Sora said more commandingly. She turned around so that she could see him eye to eye consequently stopping Naruto's caresses. She gripped the robe closer to her body conscious that she only had her undergarments on underneath the robe. "Are you insane? Is Jiraiya-sensei here? What if he comes-"

"Sora, Sora," Naruto said shaking his head. "You worry too much. He didn't even come back last night." Sora looked shocked so Naruto took the opportunity to move on top of her. He placed one of his hands behind her head and moved his head to the crook of her neck. His tongue slid over the supple skin. He couldn't get enough of her taste.

Sora couldn't deny the fact that her body was enjoying Naruto's gentle attacks of affection. Her mind wanted to push him away but her body pleaded to allow him to stay. "N-Naruto," she stuttered. Her mouth let out a subconscious sigh of pleasure.

The sound made Naruto's body heat up. He stopped kissing her neck and moved up so that their faces were centimeters away from each other. "Sora," he whispered coarsely. His blue eyes locked onto her red ones. He was mesmerized. Gently, he moved a strand of red hair away from her face and leaned his forehead against hers. "I think I'm in love with you."

Sora's eyes widened and she started to say something but his lips came crashing into hers cutting her off. Naruto's lips worked against her own wanting her to open for his tongue to enter. She tried to protest but couldn't pull back since she was against the bed.

Naruto nipped her lip making her moan softly opening her mouth. He took the opportunity to move his tongue in. The taste was addicting. He pushed for more and more while his hands held her head in place. Nothing else in the world mattered to him now. All he cared about was the girl he was kissing right now. Black desires rose up inside of him as he hungrily pushed for more.

After a few more moments of wild ecstasy, they finally had to break for air. Naruto opened his eyes as he panted and saw that Sora's cheeks were flushed and her slightly swollen, crimson lips were parted as she took in and let out the heated air. Naruto felt an aura wash over him as he studied her lips. He felt their softness linger on his own making him desperate for more. He moved in again to kiss her but she turned away. "Sora?"

"I'm sorry," Sora whispered still panting. "We shouldn't…I-we need to get up now. Jiraiya could come back any time now and he'd expect us to be ready to train or to continue with the mission." She pushed the stunned Naruto off of her body and rolled to her side to get off the bed.

Naruto could only stare at her as she stood up. "Sora, I-"

"Naruto-kun," she said retying the knot that held her robe. "Now is not the time." An image of Sasuke flashed across her mind. She shivered at the memory. _What's wrong with me?_ she thought angrily. _If I told Sasuke I loved him…why am I feeling like this around Naruto? I'm such a whore._

_Now is not the time?_ Naruto thought. _Then she doesn't not love me…_ "I-I'm sorry if I went too far," he said getting off of the bed as well. "I just got caught up in-"

Sora gently touched his shoulder stopping him. She shook her head. "Let's concentrate on the mission at hand, ok?" she said completely changing her tone. It surprised Naruto as well as herself.

"Uh," he responded automatically. "Uh, well, I made us breakfast!"

Sora smiled. "Really? You cooked?"

Naruto laughed and put a hand behind his head. "Well, I sort of did. Come on." He grabbed her hand and led her out of the bedroom to the main room of the apartment.

The sweet smell of pancakes wafted through the air. The table was set for two, simple yet elegant. "Did you go out and get all this just this morning?" Sora asked.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah," he answered. "I figured we couldn't just live off of the junk food I got yesterday so I got up extra early to get 'real food' as you call it." He smiled broadly.

"Naruto, you shouldn't have gone through all the trouble of-"

"Anything for you," Naruto interrupted. He led her over to a chair. "Let's eat!"

The two sat down and immediately dug into their stacks of pancakes. Naruto, as usual, was extremely hungry and ate six while Sora ate a more realistic two. When they were finished, Naruto insisted on clearing the table so Sora went to wash up. By the time she was dressed in her normal clothes, Naruto was done cleaning.

Then the door to the apartment opened revealing a very disheveled, not-sober-looking Jiraiya. "Goo moring!" he slurred happily as he stumbled in the room. His droopy eyes settled on Sora. "Hey, wut's a sexy babe like you doin' in my apartment?" he asked trying to sound seductive but failing miserably.

Sora's eyebrow twitched. Her newfound respect she had formed for him the day before was now gone. She watched as the white-haired man swaggered over towards her. He was smiling like an idiot.

"Hey!" Naruto yelled and moved so that he was in between his perverted sensei and Sora. "Don't talk like that to Sora!"

"S…or…a?" the drunk Sannin asked stupidly. Then something looked like it clicked in his dense mind. "OOOOH!" he exclaimed loudly. He smiled and closed his eyes. "I remember you!" He pointed a finger at Sora and nodded with his eyes still shut. Then he tipped to the side and fell to the ground with a thud.

Both of the Genins sweat-dropped.

Jiraiya was now snoring peacefully on the floor. "Uh, should we try to wake him up?" Sora asked shakily.

Naruto sighed. "I knew he'd end up like this," he said. He walked over to his sleeping sensei and found his wallet. "Yup, it's empty…"

Sora's eyes widened. _And he's a Sannin?_

"But that's ok cuz he's going to pay me back when we get back to the village! Plus interest," Naruto said tucking his now empty wallet away in his pocket. "Let's drag him to the bathroom."

"Uh, ok," Sora said. The two hulled Jiraiya's limp body to the bathroom and they placed him in the tub. "Uh, Naruto?" she said after a while.

"Yeah?"

"How exactly do you think this is going to help him wake up?"

Naruto smiled mischievously. "Well," he said. Then he turned on the faucet. Freezing cold water came shooting out of the showerhead directly onto the unsuspecting Jiraiya. "AHHHHHHHHHH!" he screamed and jumped up. He was now completely sober. "NARUTO!"

Naruto laughed slightly and backed behind Sora. "Hey, I just helped you, ya know?" he said.

Jiraiya turned off the water and stepped out of the tub completely soaked. He was about to say something but then he stopped himself and shook his head. "Just get out…"

The two Genins didn't need to be told twice. They got out of the bathroom as quickly as they could and shut the door. "He's scary when he's mad," Sora said shuddering.

Naruto nodded. "And when he's drunk."

"I can't believe he would spend all of your money on sake!"

"Probably not only on sake," Naruto said.

Sora knew what Naruto meant and frowned. "Naruto, are you sure this guy's a Sannin like he says he is?"

"Of course I am!" Naruto said. "He taught me how to summon the Frog Boss, didn't he?"

Sora nodded thoughtfully. "Oh yeah," she said. "But he just seems so-"

"Unorthodox?" Naruto finished.

"Yeah," Sora said. Then she cocked an eyebrow. "When did you learn such a big word?" She smiled teasingly.

Naruto grunted. "What? You think I'm not smart enough to know big words?"

Sora grinned and patted his head. "I was just surprised that's all."  
Naruto couldn't help but smile back. He felt the sudden urge to grab her and was about to when the door to the bathroom opened. Out came Jiraiya and he looked absolutely miserable. "Ok," he grumbled. "Let's get going." He walked over to the door and opened it. The Genins hadn't moved. He noticed this and turned his head. "Are you guys coming or what?"

They looked a little confused. "Uh, where exactly are we going?" Naruto asked walking up to him pulling Sora along behind him.

Jiraiya frowned. "Don't you want to learn that new technique anymore?" he asked.

Naruto's expression changed from confusion to utter joy. "REALLY?" he shouted excitedly. "ALL RIGHT! THEN LET'S GET GOING!"

"Uh, but what exactly am I supposed to do while you guys are training?" Sora asked.

Jiraiya looked almost thoughtful for a minute and then an idea pinged off in his head. "Well, since I didn't have much luck in finding Tsunade yesterday, why don't you try finding her today? I'm pretty sure she's still in this town somewhere."  
_Well of course he didn't find Tsunade yesterday,_ Sora thought slightly angrily. She frowned. "Fine. What does she look like?"

"She has long blonde hair…hm, I bet even though she's my age, she still looks very young. She's always liked the look of youth. She has golden eyes to match her hair and a purple diamond on her forehead," Jiraiya said looking pleased with himself. "And she has a very well formed bust I might add."

Naruto's and Sora's eyebrows twitched. _PERVERT!_ both thought simultaneously.

"Ok then. We'll meet back here at around, oh, 7 in the evening," Jiraiya finished.

"It'll take that long to learn just one technique?" Naruto asked.

Both Sora and Jiraiya sighed. "It'll take much longer than that, Naruto," Jiraiya said. "So we'd better get started."

The three went out of the apartment building and then the two guys went towards the outskirts of the town while Sora was left to roam around. _Great,_ she thought once they disappeared from sight. _Where to start?_ The town was just beginning to wake up since it was still early morning. Many people were opening their shops while some children were happily walking down the streets to their school. Sora smiled at the young ones and some of them waved to her. She waved back. _They're so innocent looking,_ she thought as she remembered her childhood. _Was I ever that carefree?_

She continued walking down the streets towards the center of the town where most of the bustle of the day would be. It took quite a while since they had chosen a hotel close to the outskirts of the town. She had her eyes open for casinos or any type of gambling hut. She had already formulated some plans on how to get into these places. _I look older than my age,_ she thought. _At least that's what people tell me._ She finally saw a humongous building as she neared the main streets. Sure enough it was a fancy casino. Although it was day time, the place was alive and busy with people entering and exiting. The lights flashed overhead advertising: "YOU could be the lucky one today!"

Sora saw that the doors were being guarded by two guards each. She knew that they would be at liberty to check anyone over if they wanted to. _Shoot, I either need to look like I'm a gambler…eh, no. So I have to look like I'm meeting some hotshot boyfriend of mine or something._

She entered a small shop across the street from the casino and asked the woman at the counter where the restrooms were. Once she locked herself in, she fixed her hair and tried to make herself look as glamorous as possible without the use of any makeup, combs, or jewelry. After a few minutes, she frowned at what she saw in the mirror. She looked basically like she normally did. _Oh well,_ she thought. _If it doesn't work, I can just sneak in._

She exited the bathroom and into the shop. The woman from before was gone and a younger man had now taken over the counter. He was reading the paper but when Sora passed in front of him, his head shot up. Sora felt his eyes follow her all the way to the door of the shop. She paused and decided to test if anything she did in the restroom had an affect. She smiled and gave the young man a short wave as she pushed open the door. He almost fainted.

Sora smiled to herself as she walked across the street to the casino. _Maybe this'll be easier than I thought,_ she said to herself. Once she was closer, she could feel the eyes of the young security guards watching her. She scanned them one by one to see which one might be the easiest to get past. Finally she spotted her target. She smiled confidently and walked up to the door.

"Uh, excuse me miss but I'm going to have to see your identification," a young guard said with an even voice but Sora could tell that he was having a hard time keeping it under control.

Sora looked at him questioningly. "Oh," she said sounding like she was surprised. She worriedly looked him in the eyes. "I'm sorry but I didn't know I needed to bring identification."

The guard was melting underneath her stare. "Oh, well, I, uh," he began stuttering.

Sora sighed cutely and tucked some hair behind her ear. Then she slipped her hand down on her neck and tilted her head slightly sideways. "I'm really sorry but could you please just let this one go?" she asked coming a little closer and smiling. "I promise I won't cause any trouble." She put a hand on his arm. _I can't believe I'm doing this…_ she thought.

The guard's face flushed at her touch. He didn't want to see her unhappy, no, he wouldn't stand to see her unhappy. He lowered his head slightly. "Ok, just this once," he said in a low voice.

Sora's eyes brightened up as he opened the door. "Thank you so much," she said and gave him an inconspicuous wink.

The guard couldn't stand it anymore. He just wanted to grab her and go but she was gone in an instant.

Once inside the gigantic casino, Sora gasped in amazement at the luxuriance of the decorations. There was a huge chandelier in the center of the high ceiling made of crystals and a real waterfall was flowing in between the escalators that led to the upper floors. Hundreds of rich looking people were talking, laughing, and drinking in the lobby making Sora feel really out of place. _Maybe this wasn't such a good idea,_ she thought. But she swallowed her doubts and started keeping an eye out for blonde women with a purple diamond on her forehead. She casually walked over to the counter of a bar and leaned against it to look around.

"What can I get you?" a voice said from behind her.

Sora jumped in surprise and turned around. She saw a young man looking at her with a smile. She smiled back. "Uh, I'll just have water please."

The man nodded with a small laugh. "Sure thing." He expertly grabbed a fancy glass from behind him and filled it with water. He set it down in front of her.

"Thank you," Sora said and turned back around to scan the ever moving crowd in front of her. She took a sip of the water. It was the cleanest water she had ever tasted in her life. _I hope this doesn't cost anything…_ she thought. She walked towards the crowd of people trying to look casual. She turned her gaze to the right where she saw a number of scantily dressed girls entertaining some older men. She shuddered at the sight.

"What's a fine young lady like yourself standing here all alone?" a masculine voice said from seemingly nowhere. She turned around and saw a very handsome man in an incredibly expensive looking suit. He had clean-cut brown hair and chocolate eyes to go with it.

Sora immediately blushed. "Oh, uh, I was, uh…" she stuttered.

The man laughed. "Hey, relax," he said with a friendly smile. "My name's Hitori Yukio." He took Sora's hand in his and brought it to his lips. "What might your name be?"

Sora's face turned redder at his actions. "Uh, Sora…Kousetsu Sora," she stammered out.

Yukio smiled. "Sky, huh? A very beautiful name," he said. "Are you waiting for someone?"

"Uh, well, I…I was actually looking for someone," Sora said timidly conscious of the fact that he hadn't let go of her hand.

"Maybe I could be of assistance?" Yukio asked.

_I guess it couldn't hurt to ask,_ Sora thought. "Well, I'm looking for a woman, middle aged, uh, blonde hair and a purple diamond on her forehead."

Yukio looked like he was thinking and stood silent for a few seconds. "I think I remember someone of that description," he said elegantly. "She came in yesterday and went straight to the 17th floor."

Sora looked confused.

"You must be new here," Yukio said noticing.

She nodded.

"The 17th floor is where the invited guests go to have special treatment," he explained.

_What? So she was invited here?_ Sora thought. _Is she famous outside of Konoha too?_

"She hasn't come down yet," he continued. "I would've noticed. Hard to miss with her assistant following her around with a pig in her arms."

"Pig?"

Yukio nodded. "I'm afraid we can't go up to the 17th floor though until their session is done."

"Oh," Sora said. "But if it's only for invited guests, I don't think I'll be allowed to go-"

"Don't worry about it," Yukio interrupted. He placed her arm around his own. "I'll tell them you're with me."

Sora raised an eyebrow. "Uh-"

"My father is one of the co-owners of this casino," he explained.

Sora gasped. "Oh, uh, I'm sorry to have been so rude in taking all of your time!" she said.

"Please, if you are waiting for your friend to come down, will you honor me with your company for lunch? My treat of course," Yukio asked. He smoothly took the glass that Sora was holding from her and passed it off to a man in a uniform who was passing by. He never took his eyes off of Sora the whole time.

Sora blushed slightly and looked down. _He really does "own" the place,_ she thought. She felt his hand lift her chin so that she was looking at him again. He smiled showing his perfectly shaped, white teeth.

If Sora had been any normal girl, she would have melted right there but she kept her smile even though she felt uncomfortable. _Well, if Tsunade is here then I'll have to wait until she comes down or until the session thing is done anyway…which is I don't know how long. And I don't want to look like a fool wandering aimlessly around for hours._ She quickly glanced around the room and noted that some men were eyeing her body even as she stood talking to Yukio. _He seems decent enough. I don't want to get caught by one of those guys…_ "Ok," Sora finally said.

Yukio led Sora across the lobby towards the escalators. "Anything you particularly like?" he asked as they ascended.

"Uh, anything is fine," she responded. Then she realized that she was pretty hungry and she didn't have any money to get food with. _I should've asked Jiraiya-sensei to let me borrow some,_ she thought. _Or maybe he spent all of his own money last night too._

"All right then," he said. They stepped off of the escalator in front of an extremely fancy restaurant.

"Ah, Yukio-sama," a waiter said. "Table for two?"

Yukio nodded and the waiter rushed off to get things ready.

Sora saw that inside was a numerous amount of people sitting in very comfortable looking chairs around tables steaming with delicious smelling food. The entire back wall was made of tinted glass and Sora could see all the way to the edge of the town. There was live traditional Japanese music being played in the background. The sound of the flute was especially captivating to Sora's ears. "Wow," she whispered.

Yukio smiled. "Do you like music?" he asked.

Sora nodded. "Yes, but I rarely have time to enjoy it," she said without thinking. The music of the flute drifted through her mind relaxing every tension in her body.

"Your room is ready, sir," the waiter said reappearing. He led them to a small balcony overlooking the rest of the restaurant through tinted windows. The room was elegance to the maximum with at least five waiters waiting to take their orders.

Sora felt extremely out of place now. She gulped and tensed subconsciously.

Yukio felt the pressure on his arm and led Sora over to the chair. She sat down. "We'll have my usual," he said to the waiters, "but bring us the second special for drinks."

The waiters bowed their heads and left Sora and Yukio alone.

"This place is amazing," Sora said looking up at Yukio shyly.

Yukio laughed. "Thank you," he said and sat down across from her. The drinks came in an instant and a waiter placed them down, one in front of each of the two. "Please," Yukio said motioning for her to drink.

Sora picked up the drink and sniffed it inconspicuously. _It doesn't seem to have any alcohol or drugs in it,_ she thought. She took a sip. The flavor was incredible. It was a sort of mix of fruits and crème. "Wow, this is wonderful," she said unaware that her mind was wandering.

"I'm glad you like it," Yukio answered and took a sip of his own drink. "So where are you from?"

Sora was beginning to feel very comfortable. "Konoha," she said taking another sip.

"Ah yes, I've been to the village," he said. "Our country's stronghold of ninjas. Are you a ninja then?"

Sora paused. "You could say that," she answered slowly.

Yukio leaned forward. "You look so delicately beautiful though," he said.

Sora blushed. "Looks can be deceiving," she said. Suddenly her head felt very light and her vision swayed. _What…what's going on?_ she thought. She stood up. "Uh, I'm sorry. I need to be excused for a second," she said trying to walk towards the door, but she stumbled.

Yukio reacted quickly and caught her before she fell. "Are you all right?" he asked.

"Mm…" Sora moaned closing her eyes.

A wicked smile crept across Yukio's face. He slowly picked the unstable girl up and brought her back over to the couch that was lining the wall of the room. "I'll just let you lie here until you're better, ok?" he said to her.

Sora let out a small groan as she felt herself being placed on something soft. _What the hell? I didn't sense anything in that drink…what's he going to do?_

Yukio quickly got on top of Sora and covered her with his body. He started suckling her neck hard leaving dark bruises behind.

Sora was in no state to fight back. She weakly put a hand on his shoulder in protest but couldn't push him away. _Oh god…is he going to rape me?_ she thought in alarm.

Yukio unbuttoned Sora's dress allowing him to slip his hand underneath the cloth onto Sora's smooth skin. He ran his fingers up her stomach and finally found her covered breasts. He began to roughly massage them through her bindings.

"S-stop…" Sora protested weakly.

Yukio then stopped kissing her neck and smashed his lips against hers. Sora's mouth was already open so he immediately thrust his tongue into her mouth.

Sora tried to scream but nothing came out as he pushed harder and harder against her mouth. This wasn't love or even passion. It was pure lust as Yukio ran one of his hands down the back of her leg.

Yukio finally released Sora's mouth for air. "You're so innocent," he said as he panted while his hands never ceased to wander her body. "You put your trust in people too easily."

Sora shook her head weakly as she filled her lungs with air as well. She tried to get out from under him but to no avail.

Yukio laughed cruelly at her weak attempt to escape. "Oh, I'm not done with you yet," he growled viciously. "How could I let a sexy bitch like you walk out of here without making love to me first?" He grabbed a hold of her dress intending to rip it off when a loud crash was heard coming from the hallway. "What the-?"

The door flung open letting a mess of tablecloth, food, and dishes pile into the room. A number of men came running in after the mess shouting. "Get him!" "Where is he?" "Damn animal! Who brought it in here in the first place?"

Yukio quickly got off of Sora and stood in front of her. "What's the meaning of this?" he demanded.

Then out from under the pile of tablecloth, food, and shattered porcelain, a flash of pink jumped right into Yukio's side causing him to fall to the floor. Then he felt four tiny spikes sticking into his stomach. "Huh?" A squeal answered his question and he felt the thing on his stomach leap off of him sending jabs of pain into his abs.

"There he is!" "GET HIM!" The men jumped for the animal.

"TONTON!" a female voice cried. The owner of the voice entered the room and saw a mess of not only the food and broken dishes but of a bunch of men struggling to get at some unseen object. _Oh, no,_ she thought as she ran towards the men. She pushed them to the side one by one and finally found the thing she was looking for. "TONTON!" she shouted as she scooped up the small pig in her arms. "You're going to get a big punishment for this!" The men looked up at the woman in a daze. "Oh, hehe, sorry about that," she said laughing nervously. She backed up until her legs hit the couch. "Huh?" She turned her head and saw Sora lying barely conscious on the couch with her dress unbuttoned almost all the way. "WHAT?"

"Shizune," another female voice called. "Have you found Tonton yet?"

Tonton squealed at Shizune and tried to tell her that the girl on the couch was the reason he had run off.

Sora tried to ask for help from the dark haired woman in front of her but words couldn't form in her mouth. All she could do was plead with her half-open eyes.

"WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON HERE?" Yukio roared once he shoved some disheveled men off of him. He saw Shizune staring at Sora. "GET OUT OF HERE!"

"What exactly were you doing to this young girl?" Shizune asked.

"That's none of your damn business," Yukio spat as he got up.

"Shizune," the other female called again. She entered the room. Her golden eyes scanned the scene of chaos in front of her. "What happened here?"

"Tsunade-sama," Shizune said still trying to hold the small pig in her arms still. "I believe this man is trying to rape this girl!"

"Huh?" Tsunade looked over at Yukio then over to Sora.

"THAT'S NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS!" Yukio repeated as he ran at Shizune.

Tsunade reacted quickly and punched him square in the jaw sending him flying to the side. She picked Sora up and turned to her assistant. "Let's get out of here," she said. Shizune nodded and Tonton grunted with triumph. Then the two women and the pig along with Sora disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Sora didn't know how long she slept but when she woke up, she was lying in a different hotel. She looked around and saw the dark haired woman she had heard being called Shizune back in the casino. She groaned softly as she propped herself up on the bed.

"Oh, you're awake," Shizune said coming over to the bed. "How're you feeling?"

Sora shook her head to clear her vision and looked at Shizune. "I-I'm fine…thank you," she stammered. "Where am I?"

Shizune smiled. "You're safe now," she answered kindly. "We brought you to our hotel room from that casino you were in where that man was trying to harm you."

Sora winced slightly from the memory. Yukio's words came rushing back to her mind. _I was too innocent? Too trusting? That bastard…_ she thought. "Uh, thank you so much for saving me," she said softly turning red. "How can I repay you?"

Shizune shook her head. "No need," she said. Then a squeal was heard coming from next to the bed. Shizune laughed at Sora's surprised expression. "Oh, my name's Shizune by the way and this is Tonton." She picked up the pig and placed him on the bed. Tonton immediately went up to Sora and nuzzled her hand.

Sora stared in shock at the little pig. _Pig…pig…where have I heard…O YEAH!_ "Is there by any chance a woman named Tsunade with you?" Sora asked.

Shizune nodded. "Why yes," she answered. "She was just here a minute ago…"

"Is the girl awake yet, Shizune?" a voice called from the other room.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama," Shizune replied.

Then Tsunade entered the room. She was indeed a very good-looking woman with nice features that would attract any man but she also had a sort of expression that told that she was not one to mess with. "So how are you feeling?"

"M-much better, thank you," Sora said nervously. _This is Tsunade, the woman we were looking for!_ she thought happily. "Uh-"

"Good," Tsunade said not noticing that Sora had begun to speak again. "I bet that bastard put some kind of drug in your drink to make you temporarily helpless, but I drained all the poison from your body so you should feel almost back to normal now."

Sora nodded blankly. _How am I going to say this?_ she thought as Tsunade walked over to the dresser.

"Shizune," Tsunade said.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama?"

"I'm going to go out to the bar for a while but I want you to stay here with this girl…" She paused as if she had forgotten something. "Oh, yes, and what was your name, dear?" she asked Sora.

"Uh, Sora. Kousetsu Sora."

"Well, you've probably figured out that I'm Tsunade and this is Shizune, my assistant," Tsunade said with a kind smile. "Please rest here as long as you like."

"Uh, Tsunade-sama," Shizune said nervously. "I don't think it's a good idea to go off on your-"

Tsunade held up a hand stopping Shizune. "I'm a full grown woman perfectly capable of handling things myself Shizune," she said with a little annoyance.

"But," Shizune started but then stopped herself remembering Sora was in the room. She could only express her disapproval silently.

"Shizune, Shizune," Tsunade sighed. "Fine. Sora?"

"Yes?"  
"Would you mind if both of us went out for a while? I trust that you won't cause trouble," Tsunade said.

"Uh, of course not, but what town are we in?" Sora asked. She had glanced out the window and didn't recognize the area.

"Oh, we're in Tanzaku City," Tsunade replied. "I'm sorry, but we had to travel over the course of time you were out and we didn't know where to leave you."

"How long have I been out?" Sora asked fearfully.

"Several days," Shizune said quietly.

"What?"

Tsunade nodded. "If you need to get back, we can have that arranged," she said kindly.

_Several days?_ Sora repeated in her mind. _Then Jiraiya-sensei and Naruto must've already left the other place by now. If they were following Tsunade at all, it should lead them right here…unless they stayed and tried to look for me…_ She felt a pang of guilt wash over her. _I was so stupid back there,_ she thought bitterly.

"Sora?" Tsunade asked interrupting her thoughts.

"Uh," Sora said coming back to reality. "I was traveling with a man named Jiraiya and boy named Naruto and we were actually looking for you."

Tsunade looked shocked. "Jiraiya?" she asked softly.

Sora nodded. "Yes," she said. "We came to ask you to come back to Konoha so that-"

"No," Tsunade said curtly. "I don't want to go back to that god-forsaken place." She turned towards the door.

_What?_ Sora thought. _What's with her and Konoha?_ "But-"

"I knew you were a ninja from Konoha by your forehead protector so I suspected as much," Tsunade said with out turning around. "I have no wish to see that village ever again."

Sora tried to get out of the bed but felt her head spin and stayed still. "But at least talk to Jiraiya-sensei!" she pleaded. "He-"

"I have no desire to see that man again either," Tsunade said softly. "Now, I'll be going. Are you coming, Shizune?"

Shizune looked from Tsunade to Sora and back again. "Uh, yes, Tsunade-sama," she said. She picked up a briefcase and followed Tsunade to the door.

Sora saw the door close and she flopped back down on the bed. _Dammit,_ she thought. _I finally find her and then I completely fail to get her to come back with me._ She stared at the ceiling. _I wonder how Naruto's doing. I hope he's not too worried._

After a few minutes of staring at the ceiling, Sora decided it was time to try and get up again. She rolled to her side and slowly pushed herself up. Her head didn't spin yet so she moved her legs off of the bed and stood up. She held onto the bed post for support but then let go. After she could stand without feeling wobbly, she sighed and started walking slowly around the room.

As she passed the mirror on the dresser, something dark on her neck caught her eye. _What?_ She stopped and looked closely at the mirror. There were multiple, purple and black bruises lining the side of her neck where Yukio had kissed her. She scrunched her nose in disgust. _Crap, now I have these on my neck? They won't go away for a few more days, _she thought miserably. _If I see Naruto again before then, I won't be able to hide it._ Sora gingerly touched the sensitive blemishes and winced at the painful memory that came with them. _Stupid…_ she said to herself. _I should have never gone with him…but he seemed so genuine and safe…but he wasn't. You were a fool. How could I be such a naïve fool?_

She tightened her fist on the dresser. "Ok," she said out loud. "I have to find Jiraiya and Naruto. They can persuade Tsunade-sama better than I can." She went to the bathroom and quickly washed her face then she went out of the apartment building and onto the streets of Tanzaku City. It was indeed a city and a pretty large one at that. "Shoot," Sora muttered under her breath. "How am I supposed to find Jiraiya and Naruto without my Chakra in this place?"

It seemed like thousands of people were everywhere walking rapidly down the windy streets of the city. There were street venders everywhere trying to sell their goods to the hurried-looking people. As Sora walked down the streets just to look around, she was nearly grabbed by a few venders that shoved products into her face. She got away with some effort and soon found herself walking in a less crowded area.

_Ok,_ she thought now that she was away from the noise. _Where to start?_ She decided that she should try and get higher up. She found an alleyway and readied herself to jump from wall to wall to get to the roof tops. She jumped but almost immediately fell back down landing on her back. _What the hell?_ she cursed silently. Her head felt like it was on air reminding her again of Yukio. She gritted her teeth in frustration. _I hate that bastard!_ she thought with malice. She rolled to her side and slowly got up again. "All right, focus, Sora, focus!" she growled at herself. She put her hands in a focusing position and closed her eyes. Her brows furrowed in deep concentration. Then slowly but surely, she felt her body energy come back. She opened her eyes and leaped from the ground.

She jumped back and forth from the walls of the buildings until she reached the roof top. Her head felt like it was going to float away but she shook her head and forced herself back down to earth. _That wasn't so bad,_ she thought sarcastically. She scanned the area for any sign of Naruto or Jiraiya. Nothing. _Dammit…_ Then something caught her eye. A cloud of smoke had formed near the outskirts of the city. _Hm, something must be wrong,_ she thought.

She raced from roof to roof towards the cloud of smoke to see what was going on. It only took her a few minutes to get there even though it was a long way off. Surprisingly, the wind and fast movement cleared her head. When she arrived, she saw that the place was actually a historical site of some kind of ruins. She slowed her pace and entered cautiously ready for anything. She walked down the stone path that led right beside the walls of the ruins and as she turned the corner, she heard voices. She stopped immediately and hid behind the wall. She strained her ears to hear what was going on.

"What? Then we've got to find Orochimaru as soon as possible!" she heard a younger masculine voice shout.

"Patience!" an older man's voice barked at the younger one. "Our top priority is finding Tsunade and Sora."

Sora's eyes widened. _How could I get so lucky?_ she thought. She rushed around the corner and to her relief she saw Naruto and Jiraiya inspecting a pile of rubble. "Naruto-kun! Jiraiya-sensei!" she called as she ran down the path towards them.

"Huh? Sora-chan?" Naruto asked upon hearing a familiar voice. He turned his head and saw the redhead running towards him. "Sora!" he exclaimed and ran towards her. The two teammates met in a tight embrace. "Sora-chan! Oh my god…I was so worried when you didn't meet us and then Sensei said that we had to leave the town! I thought we had left you behind!" he said still not letting go of Sora.

Sora almost cried from happiness and didn't mind that they were still embracing. "I was worried too," she almost whispered.

"Well, well, well," Jiraiya chuckled as he approached the two embracing Genins. "It looks like we've finally had some stroke of luck, eh?"

Sora and Naruto finally pulled apart but Naruto kept his arms around her. "You could say that," Sora said with a smile.

"What happened to you?" Naruto asked.

Sora paused for a minute but then regained her composure. "I…I was in a casino looking for Tsunade and then this guy tried to…" She trailed off looking away embarrassed.

"What?" Naruto said with rising concern. "He tried to what? Make a move on you? Kidnap you?"

Sora trembled slightly. "He drugged me and tried to rape me," she said biting her lower lip.

"WHAT?" Naruto shouted.

Sora looked down in frustration and embarrassment.

Everyone was silent for a moment. "Sora," Naruto finally said. He put his hands on her shoulders and made her look him squarely in the eye. "He…he didn't did he?"

Sora shook her head. "No," she said with false strength in her voice. Deep down, she felt completely vulnerable.

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief and moved his hands down Sora's arms to catch her hands. He smiled gently. "Thank God," he nearly whispered.

"But I got rescued…by Tsunade," Sora said trying to change the subject.

"Really?" Jiraiya said. "And she brought you here with her. That makes sense."

"Then you know where to find her?" Naruto asked Sora.

"Kind of," Sora said. "She said that she was going to a bar…if that helps any."

Jiraiya looked thoughtful. "It does as a matter of fact," he said. "She obviously came here first for some reason but if she was going to go to a bar I think I know where she is. We can fill you in on what's happened as we walk."

The two Genins nodded and the three set out towards the inner city.

"All right," Jiraiya said. "We think that Tsunade and Orochimaru met at the ruins not too long ago and there was some sort of conflict because obviously the wall was completely destroyed."

Sora nodded her head.

"I figure he came to see her about her healing powers as well," Jiraiya continued. "The Third, before he died, was able to seal his arms and thus his techniques away inside of his last move and I bet Orochimaru wanted Tsunade to heal his arms."

Sora was curious to know how the Third was able to seal Orochimaru's arms away and Naruto noticed her look of curiosity. "He won't tell how," Naruto whispered in her ear. "I don't know why. But I've already tried to ask."

Sora nodded.

"I'm betting Orochimaru gave Tsunade a deal of some sort," Jiraiya continued without noticing the Genins' whisperings. "Tsunade might not have such a hard time complying to Orochimaru's offer since she left Konoha…as I did." He kept his gaze forward but paused to reflect.

_I wonder why all the Sannin left Konoha,_ Sora thought.

The trio walked through the streets and as it was getting darker, since it wasn't a short walk back to the inner city, they were getting less crowded. It was a quiet walk with Jiraiya in the lead leaving the two Genins to themselves.

_There're marks on her neck,_ Naruto thought as he stole a glance at Sora. _That bastard… _"Sora-chan," Naruto finally said.

"Hm?"

"Uh, I was just thinking…"

"Yes, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto grasped Sora's hand making her jump a bit in surprise. "I just…I never want to lose you like that again," he mumbled as a blush crept across his face.

Sora looked at Naruto. "Please don't feel bad for what happened to me. It was my own fault," she said.

"No it wasn't!" Naruto said. "What was I thinking letting you go to casinos by yourself? If I hadn't been so full of myself in learning that stupid technique-"

"Naruto," Sora interrupted. "Training is important. Don't forget that I'm a ninja too. It's not your fault. I should be able to take care of myself in any situation."

"But…I…" Naruto stammered. "I mean, I know you are strong and a great ninja but you're also a girl and…and I'm not saying that in a bad way!"

Sora raised an eyebrow. "Then what do you mean?"

"It's just…you're so beautiful and perfect and…and any guy would be attracted to you. There're some real bastards out there that want a piece of you like that guy in the casino and…it doesn't matter how good a ninja you are in those situations. If they could get you to trust them…Don't you see? It's dangerous!"

Sora began to feel angry. She narrowed her eyes and pulled her hand away. "Because I'm a girl that automatically makes me weaker because I'm more susceptible?" she asked.

"No, I'm not saying-"

"Then what do you mean? That I can't differentiate between the good guys and the bad? That I'm too trusting?" She stopped herself from speaking further. She had said the "trusting" part to spite herself and Yukio and realized that she was overreacting. She clenched her teeth. "I-I'm sorry, Naruto," she said in a subdued voice.

Naruto couldn't speak. He had never seen Sora angry before and he felt horrible that he had made her feel that way.

Sora sighed when she didn't hear Naruto speak. "It's all in the past now. I know that I should be more careful and that you were just worried for me. I'm sorry for losing my temper."

Jiraiya who hadn't been listening to their conversation suddenly stopped. "Here's the place," he said turning to face a small restaurant. "If I know Tsunade, she's probably had enough of the bars around here and just wants a nice quiet drink." He turned to face his companions and was a bit surprised at their expressions. Sora was looking down while Naruto was quiet and looked like he was thinking. "All right then," Jiraiya said raising his eyebrows. "Shall we?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry, Sensei," Naruto said snapping out of his trance. He followed Jiraiya to the door. He looked back to see Sora still standing in the same place. "Sora-chan?"

Sora swallowed. _He's still calling me Sora-chan after I blew up at him?_ she thought. She nodded her head and joined the two guys in the restaurant.

It was indeed a quiet restaurant and there weren't that many people there but Jiraiya, being tall, looked over the sea of booths and immediately spotted the blonde he was looking for. They made eye contact but only briefly. Tsunade had quickly looked down again. Jiraiya smirked slightly and casually walked over to where Tsunade and her assistant were sitting.

"It's been a while, hasn't it, Tsunade?" Jiraiya said as he took a seat across from Tsunade without permission.

Shizune held her breath and looked over at Jiraiya, then at the two Genins who were now standing near the table.

Tsunade took a sip of her sake and set the small cup down heavily on the table. "What do you want with me?" she asked in a non-caring voice.

Jiraiya was unfazed. "Listen, I know that you have your reason for leaving Konoha. I do too, but now is the time to forget the past and look towards Konoha's future. You must've heard about the attack by Orochimaru," he said looking straight at her face.

Tsunade leaned her head on her hand and looked to the side. "Yeah, so?" she said lazily.

_She's not going to come so easily,_ Sora thought as she glanced at Jiraiya.

_Who the hell does she think she is?_ Naruto thought as he clenched his fist. "HEY!" he nearly shouted. Everyone in the restaurant flinched at the sudden loudness but Naruto didn't care. He slammed his hands on the table and leaned towards Tsunade. "Aren't you supposed to be this awesome Sannin or something? The Sannin of Konoha for that matter and you don't want to help? What's wrong with you?"

"Naruto," Jiraiya said sternly.

"No, no," Tsunade surprisingly interrupted. "Let's see what this kid's got to say."

Naruto's eye twitched at the mention of the word "kid" from her mouth. "Don't look down on me just cuz I seem so young. At least I'm trying to help the village I grew up in! At least I'm trying to protect the ones I love."

Tsunade sighed and brought the cup of sake to her lips again. "Love…" she muttered before she took a sip.

The action made Naruto even angrier. "Are you listening?" he shouted and reached for the cup but Sora stopped his arm. "Huh?"

"Please, Tsunade-sama," she said quietly. "Our village needs you right now. So many people are in need of your medical assistance." Sora paused slightly to take a breath. "Our teammate and sensei are in critical condition right now as are a few of our friends and you're the only one who can help them." Sora fought back tears as she remembered Kakashi lying helpless in the hospital bed and Sasuke's broken state after his fight with Itachi.

"That's right!" Naruto confirmed. "The whole village needs your help and you don't even seem to care."

Tsunade put the cup down and crossed her arms. "I'm sorry to hear about your sensei and teammate. I'm sure with time they will eventually heal." She stood up to leave. "Shizune?"

Shizune reluctantly got up as well.

"Tsunade," Jiraiya said quickly as he stood with them. "Please consider just coming back for-"

"You of all people should know why I don't ever want to see Konoha again!" Tsunade lashed out. "Now if you'll excuse me, it's getting quite late."

Jiraiya snorted in disgust. "I know you've been through tough times, Tsunade, but you need to leave them behind. You know I left Konoha as well but I came back when they needed me. I came back when Sensei needed me."  
The mention of the Third Hokage seemed to strike a chord in Tsunade's heart.

"You know that he's dead," Jiraiya said softly. "Orochimaru killed him."

Tsunade shook slightly. "I know," she said surprisingly evenly.

Naruto was about to blurt something out but Sora clamped her hand over his mouth. "Naruto," whispered in his ear. "Let Jiraiya-sensei handle this."

Naruto struggled to get free but Sora held fast.

"That means the village needs a new Hokage and they've chosen you," Jiraiya said.

"WHAT?" Naruto exploded after finally getting free from Sora. "HER?"

Sora was too surprised to hold Naruto back now. _Her?_ she thought. _Isn't she a gambler and a drinker? It might be risky to have someone like her in such a powerful position._

Tsunade laughed bitterly. "You're joking right?" she asked and sat back down to reach for the bottle of sake to refill her empty cup. Shizune also sat back down as a spark of hope fluttered across her face but she didn't dare speak.

Jiraiya kept his straight face. "I wouldn't joke about something like this. They asked me to be the Hokage but I couldn't. I don't have any qualifications. You on the other hand…Your grandfather was the First Hokage, your uncle was the Second, and your medical skills are unsurpassed by anyone in this day and age."

Naruto couldn't believe what he was hearing. _Her granddad and uncle were both Hokages?_

"Will you take the position?" Jiraiya asked.

Tsunade's expression changed from mocking to a frown. "Why should I?" she said after taking another drink. "All the Hokages wasted their lives for the sake of the village. Only an idiot becomes Hokage."

"Shut up!" Naruto snarled. "You don't know what you're talking about! How can you say that risking your life for people you care about is idiotic? Your granddad was the freakin' First! _You_ of all people should know that to be the Hokage is the dream of every ninja!" His anger was rising.

"Naruto," Sora said softly and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"I don't care if you're a girl," Naruto went on. "You deserve a punch in the face!" He pulled back his fist.

"Naruto!" both Sora and Jiraiya exclaimed as Sora grabbed his arm.

"Hm," Tsunade said calmly. "You've got guts to say that to me, kid. How about we step outside, huh?" She got up and made her way to the exit.

"Tsunade-sama," Shizune said and quickly followed.

"Fine!" Naruto said hotly and marched out after the two women.

Sora glanced at Jiraiya who seemed to be thinking something over. "Jiraiya-sensei," she said causing him to open his eyes. "Aren't you going to stop this?" she pleaded.

Jiraiya sighed and got up. "No," he said. "I don't think I could if I wanted to." He left the table and went towards the exit.

Sora looked at his retreating figure in disbelief. _What's wrong with all of them? They shouldn't fight! Naruto must be crazy! _she thought and sprinted out to join the rest of the group. Once she got outside, she saw that Tsunade and Naruto were facing off.

"I'll only need one finger to beat you," Tsunade said with a jeering smile.

"Shut up!" Naruto spat and he ran towards her. He threw kunais and shuriken at her with amazing speeds.

"Naruto!" Sora yelled and made a move to go forward but she was stopped by Jiraiya. "What?" She turned to face him.

Tsunade easily blocked and dodged every single weapon thrown at her even though they were pretty strong attacks. Then as Naruto aimed a punch straight for her face, she flicked her finger at his forehead and sent him flying backwards.

Naruto hit the ground but didn't stop until he had made a small furrow in the sidewalk. "What?" he panted as he struggled to get up. His forehead protector had fallen off.

Tsunade walked towards him with a sneer on her face. "Why do you care so much about the title of Hokage?" she asked.

Naruto narrowed his eyes and pushed himself to his feet. "Because it's my dream to become the Hokage someday. If I was offered the position, I would take it no questions asked. Unlike you who seems to be so full of yourself that you don't see the meaning of protecting others!" He made a replica of himself and held out his palm. "Rasengan!"

"What?" Tsunade gasped as she began to see the swirls of air form in Naruto's palm. _The Fourth's technique?_

"AHHH!" Naruto shouted as he ran towards Tsunade with his newly formed attack. His clone disappeared as he charged.

Sora gasped in amazement. _He learned it already? Impossible!_

Naruto thrust his hand forward to attack Tsunade but she caught his wrist and the attack was shoved into the ground creating a large swirl pattern in the concrete where it had hit.

_It's much weaker but it's definitely the Fourth's attack,_ Tsunade thought. She glanced at Jiraiya. His expression was unreadable. She let go of Naruto's arm and let him fall to the ground. "You're not ready to use that attack," she stated coldly.

Naruto was panting but he looked up at Tsunade. "Just wait," he said. "I'll master it in three days tops!"

Tsunade snorted. "Fine," she said keeping her amazement hidden from her voice. "I'll make a bet with you. If you can master the Rasengan by the end of this week, I'll not only acknowledge that you can become Hokage, but I'll give you this necklace." She pulled it out from beneath her shirt to show it to Naruto.

"What?" Shizune gasped. _She's gone mad!_

"Fine," Naruto said with a confident smile. "It's as good as mine!" He slowly got up.

Tsunade turned away from Naruto and signaled to Shizune. "Let's go," she said. The two women disappeared into the night.

A silence filled the streets once the three were left alone. No one moved until finally Jiraiya sighed. "We should get some rest," he said. He turned in the opposite direction of where Tsunade had gone and began walking.

Sora looked from Jiraiya's retreating figure to Naruto who hadn't moved yet. "Naruto-kun?" she said softly.

Naruto looked over at Sora with a smirk on his face. "Yeah, let's get some rest," he said. He walked up to her and took her hand.

Sora raised an eyebrow. _ This is not normal,_ she thought as she walked with Naruto in silence. _He's gotten much more powerful than even last time but he's too overconfident now. _While it was impressive that Naruto could even perform the Rasengan, Sora still couldn't believe that he'd be able to master it in a week. _He's going to end up almost killing himself again,_ Sora thought miserably.

The three checked into a small inn with two beds and a couch but not much else. Naruto washed first, then Sora. Jiraiya went last leaving Sora and Naruto alone. Once Sora heard the water running in the bathroom she took a deep breath and walked over to Naruto who was lying on the couch looking blankly up at the ceiling. "Naruto," she said softly and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Hm?" Naruto said looking at her.

"Don't you think this, uh, bet is a little unreasonable?" she asked nervously. She didn't want to anger him in any way so she tried to make her tone extremely humble.

To Sora's surprise, Naruto flashed a huge smile and grasped her hand that was on his shoulder. "Worried about me, Sora-chan?" he smirked as he brought her hand to his lips. He kissed the palm of her hand lightly and then leaned his cheek against it.

Sora was slightly flustered by Naruto's action. "No…uh, I mean, yes, but…but, Naruto," Sora stuttered. She wanted to pull her hand away but she forced herself to stay. "Naruto, just think rationally. Why go and make this insane bet with Tsunade-sama anyway? Don't you realize that it took the Fourth Hokage three whole years to learn it? The _Fourth_!"

"So?" Naruto said closing his eyes enjoying the softness of Sora's hand on his cheek. "I've already grown so much these past few days, I'll get the hang of this technique in no time."

Sora sighed and slightly pulled her hand back. "Why does no one ever listen to me?" she asked herself out loud without meaning to. She slipped her hand away from Naruto's grasp and began walking away from the couch.

Naruto quickly stood up and caught Sora from behind. He nuzzled her neck gently. "I listen," he said softly as he moved one hand to her shoulder crossing her front while keeping his other around her waist. "I might not look like it, but I do. Really." He kissed her neck and then leaned his head beside hers.

"Naruto," Sora said in a slightly warning tone.

But Naruto wasn't listening this time and he gently guided her to one of the beds. "I'm tired, Sora-chan," he said as he turned around so that he could sit on the bed with Sora on his lap. A burning fire began in the pit of his stomach as he gently lay down on his side taking Sora with him. He brought her closer and began kissing her neck again.

Sora squirmed a bit trying to get free. "We really shouldn't be doing this, Naruto," she gasped as she felt his tongue slide over the heated skin on her neck. When she didn't hear a reply she broke free from his grasp and tried to sit up.

"Please, Sora," Naruto said in an unusually deep voice. He grabbed her around the waist before she could get off the bed. "Stay with me."

Something was different in his voice, in his actions that made Sora feel uneasy. _What's wrong with him? This isn't the usual Naruto,_ she thought. She tried to speak but no words came.

Naruto took the opportunity to bring her down so she was lying on her back and he moved on top of her. His breath became ragged as he leaned closer towards her neck. The bruises stood out against her otherwise perfect skin and he felt a rush of anger at the thought that someone else had been kissing Sora, his Sora.

Sora quickly put her hands around her neck trying to cover the marks as her cheeks flared up.

"Sora," Naruto said as he removed her hands. "I already know. It drives me insane thinking that someone violated you the way that bastard did." He leaned to the side and began suckling her ear. Between his gentle caresses he whispered, "I would never do anything to harm you."

Sora's breath quickened but she still kept silent. _Why can't I speak?_ she asked herself. A new feeling washed over her. Something from the inside began taking over her body and mind. She closed her eyes as Naruto moved from her ear to her cheeks inching ever closer to her parted lips. His hands ran up and down her sides sending waves of ecstasy across her entire body. It was almost too much. _How can he make me…feel this way?_ Her arms moved on their own as they wrapped themselves around Naruto's neck.

Naruto took her actions as a sign to go ahead with what he was doing. His lips finally found what they had been looking for as he took over Sora's soft lips. It was gentle at first but then he couldn't hold himself back anymore. He slid his tongue into her mouth and tried to go as deep as he possibly could. His hand moved up to unbutton the collar on Sora's dress. He moved the cloth to the side revealing more of her smooth skin on her collar bone. He finally released Sora's mouth and hungrily began kissing her newly exposed skin.

Sora couldn't help but gasp from pleasure. His hands, his lips, his body being so close to hers was clouding her mind from rational thought. She moved her hands behind Naruto's head and untied his forehead protector that he always wore and dropped it next to them on the bed. His blonde hair now fell messily on his head and she ran her fingers through the spikes. _Naruto,_ she thought. _How can you make me feel this way now? It's like you're a different person…It's like I'm a different person. _But the thought couldn't stop how she felt and the spreading fire that burned through her body as Naruto moved back up to capture her lips for another session of kissing.

Both felt their body temperatures shoot up as their lips connected again. Naruto couldn't help but rub his body against hers feeling every perfect curve through their clothes. The skirt of Sora's dress had ridden up high enough so that her legs were free to move as she wished. She subconsciously wrapped them around one of Naruto's legs. Their mouths were locked in a ceaseless battle of pushing and slipping. Then the door to the bathroom swung open.

The noise brought both Genins back to their senses and Sora immediately pushed Naruto off of her quite roughly and sat up. She was out of breath and her cheeks were a crimson blush. Her parted lips were now a bit swollen.

Jiraiya stared in amazement at the two Genins as he stood in the bathroom door. The steam was escaping into the room making his figure a bit hazy to the Genins. _I would have never thought…_ Then he smiled. "Ah, Naruto," he said stepping into the room. His smile was one of the sly ones and he saw Sora look down as she swung her legs off the side of the bed. "Do I need to get you guys your own room or should I separate you?" he teased as he walked over to the bed. He crossed his arms with his perverted look on.

Sora shuddered and gripped the blankets. "It's not what you think-"

"It sure as heck looked like it!" Jiraiya burst out with a perverted laugh.

Naruto just smiled in a relaxed manner as he confidently slipped his arms around Sora's waist again. "I wouldn't be the one lecturing if I was you," Naruto joked. He leaned his head against Sora's and smirked at his sensei.

Jiraiya shook his head and sighed. _Ah, to be young again,_ he thought. "We should all get rest tonight, especially you, Naruto," he said trying to sound responsible.

"That's right," Sora said quickly. "I, uh, should probably-"

"But I'll sleep better with you beside me," Naruto said not letting her go.

"What?" Sora said in shock. "You're not serious, are you?"

"I'm serious."

Sora looked at Jiraiya hinting that he should say something.

Jiraiya shrugged his shoulders. "As long as you two don't do anything, eh-herm, inappropriate," he said with another chuckle. Then he went over to the other bed and got in. "Keep noise to a minimum, all right? Night." With that he pulled the blankets over his body, turned out the lights, and then almost immediately fell asleep.

Sora looked in exasperation at the now slumbering figure of the Sannin in front of her in the moonlight that shone through the window. _He just took the only other bed…_

"I promise I won't touch you in that way. Just please, stay with me tonight," Naruto pleaded as he pulled Sora back onto the bed. "Just tonight."

For some reason, Sora couldn't say no. That feeling inside of her told her that it was all right. As long as they didn't do anything, one night was harmless. She couldn't even hear her conscious screaming at her about a certain raven-haired boy. Sora sighed and allowed Naruto to move them both under the blankets. "Just…just tonight," she stuttered.

Naruto smiled and wrapped his legs around hers pressing her body against his. "Goodnight, Sora-chan," he whispered and kissed her hair.

"G-goodnight, Naruto," she said softly.

As the night wore on, Naruto thought back on their earlier escapade. Feeling Sora's body against his own made him feel safe, loved, wanted. _She kissed me back,_ he thought with a smile on his face. _Does that mean she loves me?_


	11. Part XI: The Sannin Legacy Part 2

Part XI: The Sannin Legacy Section 2 

_Things don't make sense anymore, do they? I mean, a few years ago I would've never even thought about any of the things I do now. Boys, for instance. I didn't have time to think about them much less care about any relationships after that day…I promised myself I would fulfill my promise and die satisfied. _

_My promise…why did he choose Konoha of all places? Konoha, where Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke, and…and Naruto live. You're so cruel. I can't believe I was stupid enough to actually come to Konoha and agree to have my Chakra sealed. I've become such a weak ninja here. Before I felt that I was invincible and now all these hidden weaknesses are surfacing. Before I could fight anyone, man or beast, and win. Now I can't even defend myself from stupid, manipulative bastards…_

_I trained…yes I nearly killed myself for your sake. Is that not enough? Perfecting every aspect of my technique was not good enough? Why is it so hard to even become a ninja now? And now I've changed so much…all my training couldn't have prepared me for any of the challenges I'm facing now. I thought it would be easy. Just go to the village and pass the stupid test. But what's with these "circumstances" that just fell into place ever since I came to Konoha. Is this what you meant by my growth…as a human being? Well, just to tell you, it sucks._

At first light, Sora gently got up after a long restless night of trying to fall asleep and failing miserably. All through the night, she could hear Naruto's complacent breathing as he slept soundly without a care in the world and it made her jealous. She made sure that Naruto was still asleep as she slipped out of his embrace and silently walked to the bathroom to wash up. The freezing cold water made her feel somewhat more alive. She looked in the mirror.

_You look horrible…_ Sora sighed and looked away. Her eyes were a little bloodshot from the lack of sleep. The bruises on her neck were still as dark as ever making Sora automatically buttoned her collar up to its highest so that they would be covered.

She stepped out of the bathroom and found that both of the guys were still asleep. She looked from one to the other and frowned. Thoughts about everything that had happened ever since they had started this little escapade filled her mind. Somehow everything had gone wrong.

_Ok, enough being depressed,_ she thought to herself as she forced a smile on her face even though no one was looking. _Now for breakfast. _She left a note on the hotel provided notepad saying that she had gone out for food and that she would be back soon. Then she quietly took a key to the room and went out. Sora knew that a small breakfast was also included with their stay so she set out to find the eating area.

It didn't take long to find since Sora could smell the food wafting through the air. Her senses had improved drastically from the Taijutsu training with Kakashi so she could follow the trail easily. She gathered some fruits, breads, and other breakfast items then went straight back to her room. Upon opening the door, she saw that Jiraiya's bed was empty but Naruto was still sleeping ever so peacefully.

Sora sighed and put all the food down on the table. Then she went over to the bed and gently shook Naruto. "Hey, Naruto," she said softly.

Naruto turned around so that his back was facing her and mumbled something incoherently.

"What?" Sora asked.

More mumbling.

Sora sighed and tapped him again. "Come on. If you're gonna win your bet then you've got to get up," she said hoping that maybe the mention of the bet would stir him. But it didn't. Sora stood up straight and crossed her arms. "Naruto, if you don't get up right now, I'll-"

Naruto shot his arm up and grabbed Sora's arm cutting her off. "It was so cold when you left," he mumbled with his eyes still shut.

"Naruto, let g-AH!" Naruto pulled Sora forward so that she was now on top of him. "Naruto!"

Naruto hugged her as if she was a teddy bear. He nuzzled her cheek.

Sora's face flared up as she struggled to get free. Naruto's eyes were still shut. "Are you even awake?" she asked exasperated as she tried to get up, but Naruto's arms held her in place. Then she tried rolling off but that only made Naruto roll with her so that now he was on top. "Naruto! Baka!" Sora almost yelled.

Naruto's eyes shot open. "Huh?" he asked dumbly. He sat up freeing Sora who quickly got off the bed. "What happened?"

_Was he…still…_ Sora thought as she stared at him. "Were you asleep?"

Naruto yawned. "Was I asleep when?" he asked thoroughly confused.

Sora put a hand over her eyes so she could rub her temples. _New surprises every day,_ she thought sarcastically. "Never mind," she said as she proceeded to the table.

Naruto was about to say something when the door to the bathroom flung open. Jiraiya walked out looking surprisingly happy as opposed to a hangover. "Good morning, subordinates," he said as he walked over to the table where all the food was. "Ah, yes, nice wholesome, healthy foods for the morning," he said as he took an apple. "It's been a while, my friend." He was talking to the apple.

Sora sweat-dropped. "Uh, Sensei," she said.

"Hm?" Jiraiya answered with apple in his mouth.

She was about to ask him why he was talking to an apple but she decided against it. "Uh, what're you planning on doing today?"

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow indicating for her to explain.

"I mean, we found Tsunade-sama and the convincing thing last night didn't seem to go too well. How are we going to talk her into it?" she asked instead.

"Hm," Jiraiya said thoughtfully as he swallowed. "Well, I think the best way to convince her is to give her a little space right now."

"Are you sure?" Sora asked. "I mean, maybe if you'd-"

"My decision is final," Jiraiya interrupted. "Besides, if she saw me too much, she would most definitely say no to our offer." He chuckled as he took another bite of the apple.

_Is he serious?_ Sora thought. _If we leave her alone, then she might go and help Orochimaru to do whatever he asked her to do…or she might skip town! He's not thinking!_ She was about to protest when Naruto interrupted.

"In that case, this week will be totally dedicated to training!" He made a fist. "I won't lose this bet!" With that he ran into the bathroom and started washing up as quickly as he could.

Jiraiya sighed. _She sees something in that kid,_ he thought. _Her brother maybe. If Naruto can win this bet, then it might convince her._

_If Naruto's going to be busy with training all week and Jiraiya's not going to keep after Tsunade, I've got to make sure she stays here until the end of the week at least,_ Sora thought.

Naruto was done washing and he ran over to the table and began stuffing himself with food.

Sora snapped out of her thoughts when she heard extremely loud gulping and snarfing sounds. "Naruto!" she said sharply. "Eat more slowly!"

But Naruto was already done. "Haha," he said as he wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "I'm going to win this one for sure."

"All right," Jiraiya said happily as he threw away the apple core. "In that case, I'll be around the town. Naruto, you might want to go to the outskirts to train and Sora, you can go with him if you want to but if you don't just stay within the city, ok?"

Both Genins nodded their heads. "Then I'll be going now," Naruto said. "You wanna come, Sora?"

"Uh, I think I'll check out the rest of the city before I come. Maybe later," Sora said.

Naruto nodded and ran towards the door. "I'll be on the west side, ok?" he called back to Sora as he disappeared from sight.

"Well, then I'll be going, too. Seriously though, Sora," Jiraiya said and looked her straight in the eye. "Don't go out of this city. If you venture out, I can't guarantee your safety."

Sora nodded obediently.

"Good, so I'll see you later," Jiraiya said as he headed out the door along with his many scrolls and bags.

Sora waited until she saw Jiraiya walk down the street through her window. Then she quickly went out and locked the door of the room behind her. Once she was standing in the street, she tried to calm her thoughts. _Ok, I just have to remember where her hotel was,_ Sora thought. She tried to think back to yesterday's events and it slowly came back to her. She went into an ally and leaped up on the roof tops again to avoid any unwanted attention and she sped her way towards Tsunade's hotel.

When she got to the building, she saw Shizune running out looking pretty frantic. Sora leaped down from the short building she was on. "Shizune-san!" she called out before Shizune took off.

Shizune stopped and turned around. "Sora!" she said in shock. "Where did you-"

"Is something wrong?" Sora asked quickly before Shizune could finish her question.

"Uh, no, no, nothing's wrong, it's just…" Shizune trailed off. _No, I need her help to convince Tsunade-sama,_ she thought. "I can't find Tsunade-sama anywhere and I'm afraid," pause, "that she might have gone to _him_."

Sora's eyes widened. _She couldn't have made up her mind that quickly!_ Sora thought. "Then we-we need to stop her!" Sora said.

"But I don't know where to look," Shizune said. "She could be anywhere!"

"All right, then. We'll split up and then, uh, meet back here at noon," Sora said.

"Right," Shizune said. The two sprinted off in opposite directions in the search for Tsunade.

Sora ran up and down the streets glancing into every shop, every market, every restaurant that had windows. She skipped over looking into bars and gambling huts but she marked in her mind where they were so that when she met up with Shizune again they could go in together instead of just her alone.

After hours of searching and finding nothing, noon arrived. Sora went back to where she and Shizune had parted ways hoping that Shizune had had better luck. When she arrived, Shizune was already there waiting for her.

"Did you find anything?" she asked.

Sora shook her head. "No, but I didn't exactly check out the bars or casinos or anything."

Shizune nodded in understanding. "I didn't either. I've never felt comfortable in those kinds of places," she said sitting down on a bench. She leaned forward putting her chin on her hands. "I should have never let her out of my sight."

Sora sat next to her and sighed. "This could be troublesome," she accidentally said out loud.

Shizune nodded. "Understand though, she has a lot to think about."

"Oh, uh, of course," Sora said a little surprised to realize that she had said "troublesome" out loud. "Sorry, I didn't mean for it to come out that way."

"It's all right," Shizune said. "Tsunade-sama wasn't always like this, you know. She only started her bad habit of gambling and drinking after she left Konoha. Before that though, she was kind and always concerned for the welfare of others."

Sora nodded. "Shizune-san?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"Can I ask you something about Tsunade-sama?"

Shizune paused but then nodded her head.

"Why did she leave Konoha in the first place?"

Another pause. "I thought you might ask that," Shizune said and gave a sigh. _She should know,_ she thought. "You probably know that Tsunade-sama, Jiraiya-sama, and Orochimaru made up the Legendary Sannin trio back when they were all still Konoha ninjas." Sora nodded. "All three of them had amazing abilities and were greatly admired by all. Tsunade-sama for her Chakra control and healing powers, Jiraiya-sama for his strength and courage, and Orochimaru for his techniques and strategies. Tsunade-sama had a younger brother, Nawaki. He…" Shizune trailed off with her eyes slightly wet.

Sora didn't want to push her to continue. She put a comforting hand on Shizune's shoulder but kept silent.

Then Shizune got a hold of herself. "Tsunade-sama's had such a hard life, you've got to understand!" she said in a rush.

"Of course," Sora said nodding her head.

"Nawaki was Tsunade-sama's younger brother. He…he would be around my age now but he died when he was young," Shizune said looking down. "Tsunade's parents had also died early in her life so she was left to care for Nawaki by herself. They were incredibly close, even for siblings."

Sora could tell that Shizune had known him before his death since she had been fighting back tears ever since she mentioned Nawaki. "I'm sorry," she said gently. "I didn't know-"

"But that wasn't the end, for Tsunade-sama," Shizune cut in wanting for Sora to know that it would have taken more than Tsunade's brother's death for her to have abandoned Konoha. "Tsunade-sama had a…boyfriend, I guess you could call him, Dan. After Tsunade's brother died in a raid of the village, she wanted to have a Medic-nin on every team to increase survival rate. At first no one saw the importance of this but Dan supported her. I guess it went from there and they fell in love. Soon the Third accepted her idea and it so happened that she and Dan were placed on the same team. But during one of the battles in the Great War, Dan was fatally wounded and Tsunade-sama couldn't get to him in time to stop his death. She became crazed with guilt and loneliness that she couldn't focus anymore and she suddenly became a hemophiliac and was unable to deal with healing others even though she was the top Medic-nin in the country. Then one day, she decided to leave and never come back."

Questions began exploding in Sora's head when Shizune stopped. "But why did you go along with her?" she asked.

Shizune looked up at Sora. "I was close to Nawaki when we were kids and that's how I got to know Tsunade-sama. Ever since his death, all I ever dreamed of doing was following in Tsunade-sama's footsteps and become a Medic-nin so that I could help prevent more deaths like Nawaki's from happening. Once I passed my Chuunin exam, I immediately applied for apprenticeship under Tsunade-sama and got it. This was during the time when the climax of the Great War was going on so Tsunade-sama worked me hard. I practically lived with her, so I guess we became close. After Dan's death, I had to do a lot of her work for her in healing people because she had become so scared of blood. Then I really lived with her because she was also getting sick from not taking care of herself. Ever since then, we became more like a family so when she left, I left."

"Oh," Sora said thinking through everything that had been told her.

"In all my years of being with Tsunade-sama, I've never seen her make a bet with her necklace, though," Shizune sighed. "I thought she was joking yesterday but she wouldn't joke with something like that."

"Necklace?" Sora asked. Then she remembered. "Oh, the one she bet with Naruto?"

Shizune nodded. "That necklace was given to her by her grandfather, the First. She wouldn't just throw it away on a frivolous bet. She must see her brother and Dan in Naruto or something."

"Really?"

Shizune nodded. "He said that he wanted to become the Hokage," she said. "So did Nawaki and Dan. They both wanted to protect the village as Hokage one day just like Naruto. She had given her necklace to Nawaki when he had said that he wanted to become Hokage, and then to Dan when she found out that it was his dream to become Hokage. To Tsunade-sama, that necklace symbolizes her heart. She gave it to Nawaki and Dan meaning that she truly loved and supported them. It's not something to be taken lightly."

_I guess that Tsunade feels that her heart has been rejected by the world since the two people she loved most, the two people she gave her heart to died without fulfilling their dreams to become Hokage,_ Sora thought. _I understand now why she doesn't want to go back to Konoha. Any reminder of Nawaki or Dan would probably rip the last of her heart in two. _"I see now," Sora said quietly. She looked up into the afternoon sky. "She lost almost everyone she's ever loved." Thoughts of her village formed in her mind and how she had been too scared to do anything at the time. Too scared to bury the bodies or try to pay the right respects for her village. She had just left it in shameful ruins because she was too absorbed in her guilt and anger. _But I will go back once I'm able to,_ Sora thought clenching her fist on her lap. _I swore that I would put right what I left wrong. _"But you've got to realize, Shizune-san," Sora started.

Shizune nodded knowing what she was going to say. "I know," she said. "I want her to go back to Konoha as much as you do, but I'm afraid Orochimaru's offer might have twisted her mind."

"What did he offer?"

"If Tsunade-sama would heal his arms, then he said he could bring Nawaki and Dan back to life."

"What? That's impossible! No one can bring a dead soul back to life," Sora said shocked.

"I know," Shizune said. "I don't know why Tsunade would believe him, but he claimed that he had finally found a way to do it."

Sora stood up suddenly. "Then we can't stop looking until we find her!" she said with new determination. "If she heals Orochimaru…Konoha can't stand against another full assault!"

Shizune nodded and got up as well. Then the two were off to search the city bars and casinos.

They searched up until the sun set and the streets became empty. They were both exhausted but they had still found no Tsunade. Finally they both agreed that they should head back to the hotel and have a short break. Afterwards, they would search all through the night if necessary. Upon arriving at Shizune's and Tsunade's room, Tonton didn't run up to them as Shizune expected. Instead it was pretty quiet.

"What? That's not like Tonton," Shizune whispered. The two cautiously entered the room ready for anything that might pop out but then they saw-

"TSUNADE-SAMA!" they both shouted at the same time.

Tsunade, who had been asleep in a chair with her head on the desk in front of her, woke with a start as did Tonton who was sleeping on her lap. "Wha-huh?" she asked as her eyes shot open. Tonton squealed with surprise and fell/jumped off of Tsunade's lap.

Shizune ran towards Tsunade and almost cried out of happiness as she took her hand. "Tsunade-sama, you had us so worried when you had gone…I mean, uh…" Shizune let go of Tsunade's hand and stood straight. "Where were you?" she demanded.

Tsunade yawned and stretched before she spoke. "I was here ever since a few hours ago wondering where you had gone off to," she said.

Shizune's eyes went round and she looked like she was about to faint when Sora spoke. "Tsunade-sama, we've been looking for you for the entire day!" she said. "Shizune-san said that you had gone out before she woke up."

"I just went to get some time for myself is all," Tsunade said carelessly as she stood up. "I hope that's not a problem with you," she added sarcastically.

Sora knew that she was addressing one of the most powerful ninjas in the world right then so she held her tongue. _How did Shizune-san stay so dedicated to Tsunade-sama if she acts like this all the time?_ she thought.

Tsunade gave a small smirk of triumph when Sora didn't respond. "It's already very late," she said glancing at the clock. "I think I'll go to bed, and don't worry," she said quickly when she saw that Shizune was about to speak. "I won't sneak out or anything. Really, Shizune. I am older than you are, remember?"

Shizune stayed silent but Sora could see that she was just thankful that Tsunade hadn't gone to Orochimaru.

"Good night," Tsunade said with a careless wave as she disappeared into the bedroom.

Sora and Shizune stood in silence for a while. Then Shizune slumped down on the chair Tsunade had been sitting in. She gave a huge sigh. "Sora, if you want, you can stay here tonight," Shizune said signaling for Sora to sit down.

"Thanks, that would be great," Sora replied and sat down. _If I can just stay with them the rest of the week, I'll be able to keep a closer watch on Tsunade,_ she thought.

Shizune was thinking the same thing. "Sora," she said quietly.

"Hm?"

"I was thinking, maybe, if you want that is, you could stay the rest of the week until Naruto's bet is done. I mean, two pairs of eyes are better than one," she whispered.

"Of course!" Sora whispered back.

"Oh, good," Shizune said and leaned back in the chair. "We'll just tell Jiraiya-sama and Naruto tomorrow." The two were utterly worn out from their frenzied day of searching. They somehow managed to eat a bit and wash up and soon they went to bed.

The days passed by slowly for everyone but Shizune and Sora as they were constantly on their toes looking for or following Tsunade around making sure she wasn't going to skip town or worse, go to Orochimaru. Sora had told Jiraiya the second day that she was staying with Shizune and Tsunade and he seemed ok with it. He had also mentioned to Sora that Naruto hadn't come back from training the night before. Sora wasn't particularly worried since it was only one night and Naruto had stayed out before.

Every day Sora would check with Jiraiya to see if Naruto had come back yet but every day Jiraiya would reply in the negative. Soon she became worried and started searching for Naruto any chance she got apart from watching Tsunade but never found him.

Finally it was the day before the end of the week of the bet and Naruto was still nowhere to be seen. Sora finally asked Shizune if she could spend that day just looking for Naruto, and Shizune, also worried about Naruto agreed.

Sora raced towards the west side of the city to the outskirts where Naruto had said he would be training. When she was out of the city, she found herself in a grassless plain area with numerous small trees that looked like they had been twisted on purpose. "What happened here?" Sora asked herself out loud as she inspected the tree. She saw that not only were the trees twisted, they were all twisted in the same way: a counterclockwise swirl pattern. Then it hit her. _He was using the trees as practice for the Rasengan,_ she thought as she pictured the attack in her mind. The Rasengan was an attack that made the user focus his Chakra into the palm of his hand but in a swirling circular motion so that when it hit its target, it would twist through the skin and attack the internal structures while sending the recipient off in a spinning motion.

Sora followed the trail of twisted trees and broken rocks. She saw that with every new area she moved to, the stronger the Rasengan attack had become. _Did he actually do it?_ she thought as she saw that a very large tree showed the twisted pattern on it. _I can't believe he could get this strong in just a few days!_ She began to pick up her pace as she saw that the attacks were getting more and more powerful and finally she saw a small lake. The morning mist was still covering it and the area surrounding it but Sora could make out a small lump on the ground. _Naruto!_ she thought fearfully. She sprinted towards him as fast as she could.

"Naruto," she said as she knelt down beside his slumbering figure. He was lying on his side. She gently lowered his body so that he was now lying on his back. She gasped at what she saw. His hands were beaten and bloody from overuse and he had gotten much thinner from undernourishment but he still looked somewhat healthy. His clothes were extremely dirty and had occasional smears of blood among the dirt stains.

Sora lifted his arm around her shoulder and stood up. He was a little lighter than before since he hadn't eaten much so she was able to move more quickly. She sprinted with her load towards the city.

She went straight to the hotel she had been staying at knowing that Shizune and Tsunade weren't back from wherever they were yet. She entered the room and quickly put Naruto on the bed. Tonton was out as well with the two women so it was quiet except for the sound of Sora rushing around the room looking for medical supplies. She quickly took Naruto's jacket, shirt, and pants off but left his boxers on out of courtesy and threw them in the sink to wash later. Then she brought a basin of warm water and plenty of towels and bandages and sat down next to the bed. After hours of washing, Naruto was finally a little cleaner, his hands and cuts were wrapped, and his clothes were washed.

Sora slumped down on the bed next to Naruto's and breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, that's done," she said trying to cheer herself up. She looked over at Naruto who was still sleeping peacefully just as he had done through the entire process of his cleaning and bandaging. _He can sleep through anything,_ she thought as a smile crept across her face. Then the door opened. Sora reluctantly got up to see who it was. Both women had arrived.

"You two haven't let me go anywhere by myself this week," Tsunade said obviously annoyed.

"But it's for your own good!" Shizune insisted as she closed the door.

"Hm," Tsunade grunted as she let Tonton down on the ground. The pig squealed with delight and ran towards Sora.

Sora bent down to pat him on the head. "Hello there," she said sweetly to the animal.

"Sora-chan, did you find Naruto yet?" Shizune asked.

Sora got back up with a smile on her face. "I did," she said. Then she turned towards Tsunade. "Actually I was going to ask you, Tsunade-sama, if you could see him," she said very meekly. She and Tsunade had gotten along better as the week went by but Sora was still very cautious when speaking with her.

"He's here?" Tsunade asked.

Sora nodded. "He's on the bed," she said pointing back into the bedroom. "I washed his cuts and wrapped them already but he looks like he really needs some professional help."

Tsunade sighed. "Fine then," she said. Over the week, Tsunade had done a lot of thinking about Naruto. The others were right when they said that she saw her brother and Dan in this young Genin and she felt that he might actually have what it takes to master or at least drastically improve the Rasengan in that short week.

Sora led Tsunade over to the sleeping Naruto. Tsunade looked him over and then pulled back the bed sheets so that she could check for any bodily injuries. She put her hands on his chest and let her Chakra seep through his body healing all the minor injuries and ameliorating the worse ones. After a few minutes, she covered him again and turned to Sora. "He's fine, but he might not be able to wake up until the day after tomorrow," she said.

_What?_ Sora thought. _After all his hard work this week, he won't be able to win the bet?_ "But-"

"I'm going to go for a drink," Tsunade announced as she swept passed a stunned Sora.

"But Tsunade-sama!" Shizune protested.

"I'm tired, Shizune," Tsunade said. "I need to clear my mind. You can come or you can stay, but I'm going." Tsunade made her way to the door.

Shizune quickly followed. "Uh, Sora-chan, just stay here with Naruto. We'll be back soon," she said.

Sora nodded and the two women left. Tonton whined at Sora's feet when he saw that something was bothering her. Sora took in a deep breath. "Sorry, Tonton," she said as she kneeled down to pet him. "I just…I just can't believe that Naruto would lose the bet after all he did."

Tonton blinked up at Sora.

"But I can't believe he could actually do it! I saw the trees, and how much he improved, and…I just can't believe it!" Sora said smiling. "If only Tsunade-sama could see that. I'm sure she would see that her brother, Dan, everyone else who wants to become Hokage…their determination and dreams live on in people like Naruto." Sora stood up laughing a bit and then turned towards the bedroom door to where her teammate was still sleeping peacefully, but then she looked down at Tonton again. "He really is amazing, Tonton."

Tonton nodded his head in agreement and grunted with satisfaction. Then Sora went in to watch over Naruto.

The next morning, Sora woke up to find that she had fallen asleep while sitting next to Naruto's bed but when she looked up to find Naruto, he wasn't there. Her eyes shot open in fear. "What?" she almost screamed. She jumped out of her chair and went racing towards the door that connected the bedroom to the main room when-

"Wait, Sora-chan!"

Sora nearly tumbled over from stopping so suddenly. She whipped herself around and saw Naruto struggling to get his shirt on. "Naruto!" she cried. She ran over to him and flung her arms around him, but since Naruto's arms were still caught in his shirt, he couldn't stop them from tumbling back on the bed.

"AH, Sora-chan!" he said in surprise. Finally he forced his hands through his sleeves. Then he wrapped his arms around Sora's trembling frame. "Sora-"

"Naruto, I was so worried," Sora interrupted as she moved her hands up to cup his face. "I found you in that field and you looked so, oh god, I don't want to think about it." She leaned her head down on his shoulder so that he couldn't see the tears forming in her eyes.

Naruto pushed them up so that they were in a sitting position. He lifted Sora up so that she was sitting on his lap sideways so that he could lean his head on hers. "I'm sorry to have worried you," he said softly. He kissed her forehead.

Sora closed her eyes for a moment but then realized what position they were in. She quickly got up.

"Sora?"

"Uh, sorry, Naruto-kun," she said turning away and wiping her eyes.

Naruto got up and was about to embrace her from behind when she suddenly turned around.

"But, do you know what day it is?" she asked loudly surprising Naruto.

"Uh-"

"It's the final day of your bet!" she said excitedly. "That means you can win this, Naruto, and convince her to come back to Konoha with us! Tsunade-sama said that you wouldn't be able to wake up until tomorrow!"

"Wha-oh yeah!" he said turning back towards the closet to get his jacket. "Yeah, I thought that I had slept through the bet so I was going off to find the perverted hermit to look for Tsunade. I didn't want to wake you up just yet though, you looked so tired."

Then it struck Sora. _Wait, where are Tsunade and Shizune?_ she thought. _Did they come back last night?_ Without saying anything she ran out of the bedroom to see if either of the two women were there.

"Huh-wha-wait! Sora-chan!" Naruto called and ran out of the bedroom after her while zipping up his jacket.

Sora frantically looked around the room and saw that Shizune was asleep on the couch. _Oh, good._ She looked more closely. _No wait…_ She went over to Shizune and shook her gently. "Shizune-san! Shizune-san!" Sora called but she wouldn't wake up.

"What happened to her?" Naruto asked coming up behind her.

"I…I don't know," Sora said becoming worried. "Shizune-san!" She tried shaking her again.

"Wait! I've got it!" Naruto said and he ran to the kitchen.

Sora was too worried to notice where Naruto had gone. "Come on," she said. "Oh, no…what happened to her?"

"Here!" Naruto said and handed Sora a cup of cold water.

"Huh?"

"Dump it on her!"

"What?"

Naruto grunted. "Just, here," he said and took the cup back.

"Wha-wait!" Sora tried to stop him but it was too late.

The water came splashing down onto Shizune's face. "AHHH!" Shizune shouted as she shot up.

"Naruto!" Sora yelled.

"Hey, it worked!" Naruto said smiling at the cup.

Shizune got off the couch and reached for a towel but found none. "What…what just happened?"

"Sorry about this, Shizune-san, but Naruto just poured water on you to wake you up," Sora said with an embarrassed flush on her face as she went to get a towel for her.

"Well, you see, we were in a big hurry and you wouldn't wake up so the fastest way to wake someone up is to splash them with cold water," Naruto explained. _It worked on Jiraiya-sensei so it should work on anyone._

Shizune then snapped back to reality. "Wait! Tsunade-sama! She-Sora!" she called frantically.

Sora came running up to her with the towel. "What is it, Shizune-san?" she asked worriedly.

Shizune wiped herself off. "Tsunade-sama-she…Last night…we were talking about her offer and, and I told her that if she tried to go to Orochimaru I would stop her at all costs, then she knocked me out. I guess she brought me up here then, but Sora, I'm sure she's going to Orochimaru right now!"

"WHAT?" Naruto yelled. "She can't do that! I haven't won my bet yet!"

Shizune then realized that Naruto was there. "Naruto!" she gasped.

"We've got to go right now then," Sora said. "Do you know where she'll meet him?"

Shizune nodded. "At the ruins."

With that the three took off running towards the ruins. They arrived in a matter of minutes and saw that nothing was there except a big mess of rocks. "What happened here?" Naruto asked.

Shizune breathed a sigh of relief. "There was a battle here," she said. "That must mean that she didn't take Orochimaru's offer!" She leaped off to follow the path of destruction which would lead to Tsunade.

Sora gave a short sigh of relief as well and leaped after Shizune.

Naruto followed suit. "Sora!" he called to her as they ran after Shizune.

"Yes?"

"What just happened here?"

"Naruto," Sora said smiling slightly at his naivety. "Since there was a fight, that most likely means that Tsunade was planning on not helping Orochimaru after all and wanted to probably trick him into thinking she did so she could kill him. But I guess it didn't all go as planned, but at least she didn't help him, right?"

"Oh," Naruto said. "I see."

The two Genins finally saw an open field of green grass scattered with large boulders. They could hear and, in Naruto's case, feel the battle ahead. "There they are!" Sora said as she picked up her speed.

Naruto followed and once they arrived, they hid behind a boulder to see what was going on. Tsunade was punching through rocks and making holes in the ground with her incredible strength while trying to get at someone who was dodging at an insane speed. When the dust settled, Naruto could finally make out who was dodging. "Kabuto-san?" he asked in amazement. _What's Kabuto-san doing here?_ he thought.

Sora saw Kabuto as well. _What? He's with Orochimaru? _she thought. _I can't believe it._ She glanced around the area to look for Orochimaru and she found him. He was watching the battle with a wicked look of pleasure on his face but his arms hung lifelessly at his sides. Sora narrowed her eyes at Orochimaru and started planning a surprise attack when Naruto touched her arm.

"That old lady's in trouble," he whispered. "I'm going in."

"What? No," Sora said and grabbed his arm. "We can't just jump right in. We have the advantage since they don't know that we're here yet. We've got to plan this out or we'll lose."

"What does it matter if I can just pound them both into powder?" Naruto said clenching his fist.

"Naruto," Sora said patiently, "Orochimaru is a Sannin and Kabuto is probably his most trusted follower since he's the only one traveling around with Orochimaru. They're more powerful than anyone we've ever faced before."

"But-" Naruto was cut of by an extremely loud clash of metal that caught the two's attentions. Both peeked around the boulder they were hiding behind to see that Jiraiya had appeared and was blocking Kabuto's kunai from striking a bloody Tsunade who was shaking in fear at the blood soaking her clothes and skin. Kabuto was also bleeding but he didn't seem bothered by it. Then out of nowhere Shizune appeared and shot a shower of poisoned needles straight for Kabuto forcing him to jump out of the way.

"Go Jiraiya-sama! I can handle this one!" she shouted as she ran after Kabuto.

Jiraiya was a bit shocked but then recovered quickly. "Fine then," he said. He turned towards the boulder that he knew the two Genins were hiding behind. "You two, come over here and protect Tsunade."

Both Naruto and Sora were hesitant to come out but finally Naruto sprung out from behind the boulder. "Jiraiya-sensei!" he shouted as he ran over to them.

_It's the Fox Demon boy again,_ Orochimaru thought as he watched with an evil smile on his face. _Perhaps I can kill two birds with one stone._ Then he turned his gaze back to the boulder expecting another Genin to come out but he almost lost his composure when he saw that it was Sora. _She's here too?_ he thought. Then he licked his lips and regained his former smile. _Make that three._

Meanwhile, Shizune and Kabuto were fighting a vicious battle. Shizune was desperately trying to keep Kabuto away from where Tsunade was but she was losing quickly. _Just how good is this kid?_ she thought barely dodging his Chakra Slicer.

"You two stay here while I fight this battle," Jiraiya said again once both Genins were behind him.

"But I can fight, too!" Naruto complained.

"This is out of your league," Jiraiya replied curtly. With that he took a step but wobbled.

"Jiraiya-sensei!" Sora said and moved to help him keep upright but his hand stopped her.

"I'm fine," he said.

"What? No you're not!"

Jiraiya snorted and straightened himself up. "Well if someone hadn't slipped drugs in my drink last night, I would be," he said with a hint of sarcasm towards Tsunade.

_What? She drugged him?_ Sora thought. She glanced at Tsunade who was still trying to heal herself while shaking uncontrollably with fear. Then Jiraiya took off and began his attack on Orochimaru.

Naruto got out his kunai ready to fight if need be. "Sora," he said.

Sora looked up at Naruto and knew that he wanted her to get behind him. Inwardly she rolled her eyes but she obediently walked behind him. "Don't worry about me," she said as she passed.

Naruto sighed but didn't want an argument so he glanced around to see if Orochimaru or Kabuto was approaching. He spotted Kabuto walking towards them slightly panting but still smiling. "What? Where's Shizune-san?" he asked angrily.

"Well," Kabuto said. "She's not dead, I can tell you that."

"What?" Naruto shouted. He glanced behind Kabuto and saw that Shizune was knocked out and badly bleeding. He reverted his gaze back to Kabuto. "Kabuto-san? I thought you were-"

"I'm sorry Naruto-san," he said pushing up his glasses, "but if you do not cooperate, I will have to kill you."

Naruto was about to say something when Sora cut in. "We'll see about that," she said quietly.

Kabuto then looked towards Sora. He felt a slight regret in his heart that in order to fulfill his duty to Orochimaru, he might have to attack Sora but he looked away and shook off the feeling.

Jiraiya was trying all he could under the influence of the drug that Tsunade had given him but he was losing to Orochimaru. _Damn his body,_ he thought barely dodging Orochimaru's fangs. His neck was stretched out like a snake's body so that he could attack with his fangs more easily.

"What's the matter Jiraiya?" Orochimaru hissed as his neck shrunk back to normal size. "It's hard to believe that you're still as weak as you were oh so long ago." He elongated his neck again for another attack.

Jiraiya said nothing and tried to dodge again but couldn't completely because the drug had dampened his perception. He was able to avoid being bitten but he was head-butted backwards and landed hard on the ground.

Orochimaru laughed at his former teammate. "Even if you weren't drugged, you still wouldn't be able to beat me."

"Summoning Jutsu!" Kabuto said as he crushed a pill that had blood oozing out of it into the ground. In a puff of smoke, two gigantic snakes appeared. "Orochimaru-sama!" he called and jumped onto one of the snakes' head.

Orochimaru leaped onto the other snake's head and the two began attacking Jiraiya simultaneously.

_Dammit,_ Jiraiya thought. _I have to summon Gamabunta._ He ignored his throbbing headache and did the summoning seal sequence. "Summoning Jutsu!" he shouted. From under his hand came a puff of smoke then the tiny frog that Naruto had summoned during his fight with Shukaku appeared.

"Hey, I got summoned again?" the frog squeaked happily. Then he looked up and saw the two snakes. "AHHHH!" he screamed and leaped into Jiraiya's shirt.

Jiraiya sweat-dropped. _Stupid drug…_

Naruto saw what his sensei was trying to do. "JIRAIYA-SENSEI!" he shouted and left his place in front of Sora and Tsunade to run to his teacher. _If he can't do it, then I'll have to!_ he thought. "SUMMONING JUTSU!" He slammed his hand on the ground and expected the huge Frog Boss to appear but then-

"Hey…what's going on?" a small, sluggish voice said.

Naruto fell over. _What? I thought I could do this already!_

"Did I just get summoned?" The small, sluggish voice belonged to an equally tiny blue frog who was sitting on the ground scratching his head.

Jiraiya leaped over and picked Naruto and the small blue frog up and quickly got out of the way of another brutal attack by the snakes. "Naruto, your Chakra output in that summon was horrible!" he shouted.

"Hey! I wouldn't be talking if I were you!" Naruto shot back.

"But I have a reason that my Chakra isn't working properly! You don't!"

Naruto was about to retort when Jiraiya dropped him to the ground. He landed with a thud. "Ow…"

"Tsunade-sama," Sora said cautiously as she took out a cloth to wipe the blood away. _She's a hemophiliac,_ she thought. _I've got to get this blood off of her._ She gently touched her shoulder.

Tsunade whipped around and fell back. "Don't…don't touch me!" she screamed. Her eyes were wide with fear and her entire body was trembling.

"I'm going to wipe the blood away, just don't move," Sora said.

Tsunade could only stare at Sora in paralyzed terror as she gently took her arm and began wiping the blood off.

"It's ok," Sora said gently as if she were talking to a child. "I'm not going to hurt you." Somehow the words seemed to get through to Tsunade and although she was still trembling violently, she didn't try to run away.

"Doton: Yomi Numa (Earth Element: Swamp of the Underworld)!" Jiraiya shouted. He had saved just enough Chakra to get this attack out. The ground began to sink in on itself and soon a humongous swamp appeared around the two snakes. They began to sink and were soon too deep in to get out.

"Hm, this could be troublesome, Kabuto," Orochimaru mused as he stood calmly on the head of the struggling snake. "Just go and get Tsunade and the other girl as soon as possible."

"Other girl, Orochimaru-sama?" Kabuto asked hoping that it wasn't Sora.

"The one with the captivating, red eyes," Orochimaru hissed while licking his lips.

Kabuto's face flashed with jealousy and anger for a millisecond but Orochimaru's gaze was intent on Jiraiya so he didn't see it. "As you wish," Kabuto said. He leaped off of the snake's head and onto the ground. Then he approached the two ladies.

Sora saw him coming and stopped cleaning Tsunade off to stand in front of her. She got out her kunai ready to attack.

"NO!" Naruto's voice resounded through the air. "I'll handle this!" He leaped in front of Sora and Tsunade and rushed towards Kabuto.

Kabuto expected as much and conjured up his Chakra Slicers making his hands glow blue.

"Kage Buushin No Jutsu!" Naruto shouted and a clone appeared in a puff of smoke. As the two Narutos ran towards Kabuto, one began forming a small whirlwind in the other's hand. Soon the whirlwind became laced with Chakra and began to glow. "RASENGAN!" Naruto shouted and lunged his hand forward.

_Rasengan?_ Kabuto thought in amazement. He quickly made a small Chakra ball and threw it at Naruto.

Naruto wasn't able to react quickly enough and the Chakra hit his leg causing him to stumble. "NO!" he shouted and managed to skin Kabuto with his attack but nothing more. The main force of his attack went crashing into the ground causing the earth to shake and the grass to be uprooted. A huge counterclockwise swirl pattern was now carved into the soil. Naruto was panting heavily from the amount of Chakra he had put into his attack.

Kabuto grabbed his arm which had only taken a small hit but it was still powerful enough to make a pretty deep wound. "Impressive, Naruto-san," Kabuto said genuinely. "You have grown a lot since we last met."

"Shut up," Naruto spat and pried his hand out of the ground. He winced as he tried to move but managed to stand up despite the pain in his leg. "I thought you were a friend, Kabuto, but now I see that you're only a lying bastard!" Naruto tried to step forward but stumbled on his bad leg.

"I was ordered by Orochimaru-sama to spy on Sasuke-san," Kabuto said ignoring Naruto's insult. "I'm sorry you had to get mixed up in all of this."

"Sorry my ass," Naruto growled.

"Naruto!" Sora shouted and ran up to him. "You can't fight like this! You just recovered from your training!" She helped support him.

"I can fight this bastard," Naruto said stubbornly.

"No, you can't! Not in this condition," Sora commanded.

Naruto looked at her questioningly. She had never been this commanding before. "But Sora-ch-"

"Go back and help Tsunade-sama now," Sora said giving Naruto a push towards Tsunade. "I can fight him."

"Sora-"

"Just go!" Sora shouted. She pushed Naruto harder causing him to fall backwards. "If you don't go now, I'll be forced to attack you," Sora said keeping her voice steady. "Please, Naruto-kun."

Naruto didn't want to let Sora fight. He knew that her Chakra wasn't back yet and that Kabuto was indeed powerful, but he couldn't do anything about it now since his leg was still not acting normally. _If anything happens to her,_ Naruto thought as he scooted himself towards Tsunade,_ I'll never forgive myself. I've got to heal this damn leg fast!_

"I don't want to fight you, Sora-chan," Kabuto said quietly trying to avoid her gaze.

"Then why are you attacking Naruto and Tsunade-sama?" Sora asked clenching her fists and getting ready to attack. "You expect me to just sit back and watch?"

"I must follow Orochimaru-sama's orders," Kabuto replied calmly. His Chakra Slicers were gone and he hadn't made a move to attack yet.

"Well didn't he order you to fight?" Sora asked.

"Yes."

"Then fight me!"

"He didn't say to fight you."

That made Sora pause. "Then what did he order you to do with me?"

Kabuto didn't want to tell her the truth so he didn't say anything at all.

Sora hardened her expression and sighed. "I thought the same as Naruto…that you were our friend," she said. "The way you helped us out in the forest…but now I know that that was all a lie and you were just spying on Sasuke for Orochimaru. What a fool I was."

"I never meant to cause you pain," Kabuto said keeping his eyes down.

"How can you say that when you're attacking the people around me?" Sora asked incredulously. "I don't want to hurt you either but if you're on Orochimaru's side, I won't hold back." With that, she threw her kunai at Kabuto as fast as a bullet. Kabuto's head shot up and he quickly saw that the one kunai was actually three and he dodged them by getting in between their paths, but that was what Sora was expecting. The three kunais struck a boulder behind Kabuto but they had thin, almost invisible wires attached to them and Kabuto was in the middle of the web.

"What?" Kabuto said once he realized the situation.

Sora quickly tightened the wires constricting Kabuto so that his arms and hands were pinned to his sides. Then Sora took off faster than the eye could see and soon had Kabuto pinned to the rock with the wires. "You probably know that I can't use my Charka," Sora said after she finished tying the wires. "But I can still use my strategy and Taijutsu."

Kabuto smiled slightly. "I never underestimated your skills, Sora-chan," he said. The wires were cutting into his skin but he held back the pain. "But don't underestimate mine." Then his hands started glowing without any seals.

"What?" Sora gasped.

"I've trained myself to conjure up my Chakra for weaker attacks without the use of seals," Kabuto explained as he began to cut through the wire. "Since I was a Medic-nin, I needed to be able to use my Chakra in emergencies." Then he cut through the rest of the wire. Sora ran at him with new kunais out and the two clashed metal against Chakra. "In a way, these Chakra Slicers are like real knives," Kabuto explained. They threw each other apart and each landed safely on the ground. "They can cut through physical objects if I will them to but they can also cut through your skin without leaving a mark, only slicing the inner muscles."

Sora narrowed her eyes but said nothing. She ran at Kabuto again but she seemed to disappear and reappear behind him. Then she aimed a kick at his back but missed.

_She's gotten much faster,_ Kabuto thought, _and stronger._

_Ok, as long as I don't get hit by his hands, I should be all right,_ Sora thought. She swiftly dodged a slice of Kabuto's hand and focused on her body energy. _Just like training,_ she told herself. _This is no different._ Then she felt it. "Hah!" she shouted and began her combo with a sharp punch that came faster than Kabuto could sense. It hit.

Kabuto keeled over from the hit and didn't have time to react.

Sora didn't wait for him to fall and continued with her combo. She delivered a powerful spinning kick to Kabuto's side and sent him flying to the side. Then she quickly sprinted towards him and used one hand to catch him around the neck as he slammed to a halt against a boulder. With her other hand she pressed her kunai to his throat. "If you try to move, I'll kill you," she said dangerously.

Kabuto was panting heavily and blood was trickling out of his mouth but he just smiled. "Will you really kill me, Sora-chan?" he asked making his Chakra Slicers disappear. He wanted to make sure that she knew he wasn't going to try to attack her. He slowly moved his hand up to his mouth to wipe the blood away.

"Don't move!" Sora demanded pressing the blade more firmly against his neck. _But I…I can't kill him and he knows it,_ she thought with fear. _But if he's going to attack, it would be self-defense, right? But he's not attacking…_ She had never killed another person before in her life and she didn't want to start now, especially if that person wasn't attacking her.

Instead of wiping the blood away from his mouth, Kabuto confidently grasped both of Sora's wrists pulled her hands away from his neck.

Sora couldn't attack. She couldn't kill him. It wasn't in her heart to kill another person. She could only tremble revealing her weakness.

"I didn't think you could," Kabuto said in a low voice. "You've never killed another person before, have you?" He slowly began putting Chakra into her body through his hands without her noticing.

Sora didn't know what to say or do. She felt her mind freeze with the moment as she looked through wide eyes at Kabuto. She didn't react when he gently brought her around so that her back was against the boulder and he was pinning her wrists back.

Kabuto saw the fear and confusion in her eyes and he lost all thought of what Orochimaru had ordered him to do. He gave in to his desires and quickly caught Sora's lips in a fierce kiss.

Sora dropped the kunai that she had been holding from the sudden shock. _He's…kissing me?_ she thought absently. His lips and tongue were pushing against hers wanting for them to part. Then Sora got a hold of herself and broke free by turning her head to the side.

"Sora-chan," Kabuto almost growled. He began caressing the part of her neck that was exposed above her collar with gentle kisses. He couldn't stop. The feeling, the taste clouded his mind from everything else around him. He began pouring his Chakra into her causing her to feel tiny shocks of energy throughout her body.

Sora gasped out of surprise, shock, and unwanted pleasure at the treatment she was getting from Kabuto. But when he tried to capture her lips again for another kiss, she willed her body to refuse. She shook her head. "No," she managed to gasp out. Her vision was slowly darkening.

Kabuto responded by dropping her wrists and moving a hand behind her head and another around her waist. He knew that his Chakra was beginning to weaken her so that she couldn't resist. He forced her to stay still as he took control over her lips again. _I don't care if Orochimaru wants her,_ he thought fiercely as he pushed her lips open with his tongue. _She will be mine._

"GET AWAY FROM HER, YOU BASTARD!" yelled an approaching voice.

Kabuto reluctantly but quickly released Sora's lips and turned just in time to see a fist coming straight for his face. He didn't have enough time to dodge and took a direct hit. He stumbled to the side releasing Sora in the process.

Sora fell to her knees shaking from what had just happened.

"Sora, oh my god, Sora!" Naruto exclaimed grabbing her shoulders.

Sora couldn't hear him. In fact, everything around her was going in circles. Things became blurry and doubled as darkness crept over her vision.

Naruto saw Sora's eyes go from their usual bright red to a duller color. He became insanely angry and started his subconscious transformation into the demon inside of him. "You…" he growled dangerously.

Kabuto wiped the blood and spit from his mouth and got back up on his feet with a smile on his face. He didn't have any regrets of what he did.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Naruto snarled viciously and sprinted towards him claws out.

Kabuto calmly stood his ground and held out his hands in front of him one on top of the other with a space in between them. As Naruto approached, he conjured up his Chakra so that it was visible in between his hands.

Naruto, blinded by his anger, threw an extremely powerful punch at Kabuto.

While never ceasing to pour more Chakra into his hands, Kabuto easily dodged Naruto's attack and kicked him hard into the boulder that Sora was still in front of.

The force of the attack was so large that Naruto pounded straight into the rock leaving a large crack.

"Think before you attack, Naruto-san," Kabuto said calmly still holding his Chakra in his hands.

Naruto didn't respond as he was gasping for air but he managed to slowly get up again. His body had stopped transforming because of the attack as well.

"If you had taken the time to notice that my Chakra is within Sora-chan, then you wouldn't have acted so stupidly," Kabuto continued since Naruto didn't reply.

_What?_ Naruto thought and quickly glanced over at Sora. She was still sitting motionless on her knees with her dullish, red eyes open. It looked almost as if someone had possessed her body.

Kabuto laughed slightly and then slammed his hand into the ground. A wave of Chakra spread throughout the ground. "As long Sora-chan stays within my circle of Chakra, I can control her body as I will it to," he explained as he stood up again.

Naruto's eyes widened. _This is bad,_ he thought desperately as he tried to measure how big this circle of Chakra was.

"This is my specialty," he continued. "I can control any body, dead or living, although living ones are much more difficult." He moved his hand.

Sora's body slowly stood up and turned towards Naruto. Her eyes were now half closed as her body moved in accordance with Kabuto's hand. She pulled out a kunai.

"Sora!" Naruto shouted. "Fight it! I know you can still hear me!" He cautiously pulled out his own kunai.

"Can you fight her?" Kabuto asked in a mocking tone. "Your own teammate?" He directed Sora to approach Naruto.

Naruto ignored Kabuto but didn't back up as Sora advanced. "Sora, listen to me!" he pleaded. "You've got to snap out of it!" Then suddenly Sora seemingly disappeared and reappeared behind him. "Huh?" Naruto said just as he realized Sora was behind him, but it was too late to stop her attack. Her blade sliced through the air cutting through Naruto's clothing and into his stomach. Naruto stumbled backwards clutching his new, bleeding wound. "Sora!"

"It's no use," Kabuto said. "She can't hear you. She's under my control now."

"Shut up!" Naruto shouted. He was now trying to dodge and block numerous lightening-fast attacks from Sora.

She attacked in a continuous fluidity making it extremely difficult for Naruto to even keep track of with his eyes much less his body. She landed a punch in his stomach stunning him and immediately followed with a multitude of other punches to his stomach and head. Naruto couldn't have stopped her even if he wasn't holding back. The attacks were too fast and too numerous to react to. Then Sora grasped Naruto's neck and lifted him in the air so that his feet weren't touching the ground.

Naruto struggled to breathe and tried to unclasp Sora's fingers from around his neck. He attempted to speak but couldn't.

"She really is amazing, Naruto-san," Kabuto said. "It's most impressive that her body can actually keep up with my commands. I've never seen anyone as fast she is."

Naruto gasped for air but couldn't respond.

"Not even Sasuke-san," he added quietly. _She's much stronger than either him or Naruto,_ he thought. _But she hides her power well. Even with my observation skills, I wouldn't have been able to guess that she was this powerful._ Since Kabuto had taken over Sora's body, he was able to somewhat measure Sora's real power because he could feel her power surge through his Chakra connection into his body. Then he remembered that Orochimaru didn't want Naruto to be killed just yet.

Sora, under Kabuto's control, released Naruto but kicked him in the side before he touched the ground sending him crashing completely through another boulder.

Kabuto smiled with satisfaction and walked up to Sora. He gently placed his hands on her shoulders. _But no matter how powerful she is, once my Chakra is inside of her, she won't be able to break free,_ he thought. He planted a soft kiss on Sora's neck and then left her to see where Naruto had landed.

He expected Naruto to be completely knocked out but to his surprise, Naruto was shakily standing back up again. Blood was running down his face and his jacket was getting soaked with blood from the cut that Sora had given him. "You're harder to beat than I thought," Kabuto said mildly impressed.

Naruto got to his feet. "Don't underestimate me," he spat. "Kage Buushin No Jutsu!" he shouted.

_Impossible!_ Kabuto thought taking a step back. _He's not going to attempt the Rasengan attack again, is he?_

Two Narutos appeared with one busily making the air and his Chakra swirl together in the palm of the other.

_He should be too weak to use any of his Chakra at all!_ Kabuto thought. He began gathering his own Chakra for a defense but his earlier technique that he used to take control of Sora had definitely cut his Chakra level down.

"RASENGAN!" Naruto shouted and ran at Kabuto even though with every step he left a trail of blood on the grass.

Kabuto moved to put up his hands in defense but felt something keeping him down. "What?"

"Gotcha, you bastard!" a clone of Naruto said from behind him. Then numerous other Narutos took hold of the rest of Kabuto's body forcing him to stay still as the real one approached.

_How could he make so many clones and use the Rasengan now?_ Kabuto thought as he watched the real Naruto approach rapidly. _I could feel that he was out of Chakra and body energy. It's not possible._

At the last second, the Naruto clones disappeared but it didn't give Kabuto enough time to get out of the way and the Rasengan struck straight into his stomach. "AHHH!" he yelled out in pain as he felt his internal muscles and organs twist from the attack. He spun backwards making a furrow in the dirt, then he slammed up into a rock almost breaking all the way through.

Naruto's attack stopped Kabuto's control over Sora and she woke with a start but collapsed on the ground. "Huh?" she asked as she looked around. _What the…? I…I can't move!_ She tried to get up but her body was completely paralyzed. When Kabuto's Chakra left her body, it had drained the last of her body energy and stamina as well. She could barely stay conscious let alone move. _No, this can't be happening!_ she thought as she continued to fight this losing battle against her body. _Where's Kabuto? Is Naruto-kun all right?_ Blackness clouded her vision and she felt the approaching coldness of unconsciousness creep upon her as she unwillingly closed her eyes.

Naruto was panting heavily after he saw Kabuto crash into the boulder. His Chakra was at its minimum and his body was paralyzed from overexertion. He collapsed to the ground. With every breath, more and more blood was forced out of the gash in his stomach. The pain was almost unbearable. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Tsunade watching him with fear in her eyes. _Please,_ he thought, _I need your help, Tsunade-sama…_ He finally passed out.

Tsunade had been watching the whole thing. Her body was shaking uncontrollably when she saw the way Naruto was taking the beating. He had lost so much blood and yet he still hadn't run away, and he was still able to use a reasonably powerful Rasengan even in his condition. _He didn't run away because he loves her,_ a voice inside her head said. _How can you just sit here when he needs your help? _

"I…I'm too afraid," Tsunade whispered out loud. "There's so much blood."

_He didn't run from his fears,_ the voice said. _His fear of losing someone he cared for. How can you be so weak to give in to your petty fears? _

Tsunade covered her ears and clamped her eyes shut. "No! Stop talking to me!" she shouted.

_You're no Sannin,_ the voice said more loudly. _You're not fit to be called the granddaughter of the First Hokage. All you do is run away when people need you most._

Tears fell from Tsunade's eyes and splashed to the ground. Her heart was racing and she dug her fingers into the ground to calm herself. _No, I am the First's granddaughter,_ she thought. She looked up at the unconscious Naruto again and clenched her hands taking dirt and grass into her fists. _I can't run away. Not when people need me. _She forced herself to stand. "I won't run ever again," she said out loud.

She got up and went over to Naruto and immediately began pouring her healing Chakra into his body. "Please, Naruto," she said as she desperately tried to heal him as quickly as she could. "Don't die. Not now."

Meanwhile, Orochimaru and Jiraiya had been fighting their battle on top of the trapped snakes but even without Orochimaru's techniques, Jiraiya was quickly losing. The poison that Tsunade had given to him was dissipating but extremely slowly.

Orochimaru was able to not only fight Jiraiya but glance at the other battle going on occasionally. He was only able to see the fight between Naruto and Kabuto since Sora was further away. He saw that Naruto was able to use the Rasengan against Kabuto even though he was completely out of his own Chakra and body energy. _He could prove to be very dangerous later on,_ he thought as he easily dodged Jiraiya's attacks. _I guess I must get rid of him now._ He quickly caught Jiraiya off guard and instead of going for him, he dived off of the snake straight for Naruto. His fangs elongated as he neared his target.

Tsunade saw his approaching figure. "NO!" she yelled and stood in front of Naruto.

_What?_ Orochimaru thought but he couldn't stop his attack. His fangs sunk into the arm Tsunade had used to block his attack. He quickly released it. "I had no intention of killing you, Tsunade," he hissed as he stepped back. "But I guess now you're going to die because you protected him."

"Tsunade!" Jiraiya shouted as he jumped off the snake he was on and began running towards her. _That poison's too powerful,_ he thought. _No way will she be able to heal herself unless…_

Tsunade knew that his poison was now running through her veins slowly disintegrating her vessels. "Because," she said ignoring the burning sensation she felt in her arm. "I am the Fifth Hokage. I will defend him and Konoha with my life!" With that, she placed her hands in a seal. "Ninpou Sozo Saise (Genesis of Rebirth)!" The purple diamond on her forehead began to glow.

_What?_ Orochimaru thought in alarm, _I didn't think she would use this one._

Jiraiya stopped in his tracks. _She used the Genesis?_ he thought. He knew that this technique was in the highest class of any jutsu ranked along with the jutsu that the Third had used to seal Orochimaru's arms, and that it also shortened the user's life every time it was used.

The glow spread throughout Tsunade's face and neck creating patterns of ancient symbols on her skin. Her wounds were healing so rapidly, smoke was rising from her body as the poison escaped to the air.

As Tsunade was healing herself, Kabuto had also healed himself and was now able to stand again. He had used his cell multiplying technique to counter the effects of the Rasengan since it still wasn't a full powered one. He now watched in awe at the power of Tsunade's healing technique. _She really is the Legendary Medic Sannin of Konoha,_ he thought.

When the technique was finished, Tsunade stood, fully charged, with no hint of any fear in her eyes. "You won't get away with what you've done, Orochimaru!"

Orochimaru saw her eyes flash with power making him back up even more. But then he sensed that Kabuto was ready to fight again. "We'll see about that," he sneered. "Kabuto!" The two jumped up onto the head of one of the snakes still trapped in the swamp. Kabuto bit into a blood clot pill and used it to make a straight mark on one of Orochimaru's arms.

Both Jiraiya and Tsunade knew what Orochimaru was going to do and each immediately made the summoning seals.

"Summoning Jutsu!" all three Sannin called at the same time.

The ground shook as three gigantic clouds of smoke appeared on the field. After the smoke cleared, three monstrous animals could be seen facing off. Orochimaru's two snakes had disappeared but a new, bigger, king of snakes, Mando, had come out. Jiraiya had finally been able to summon Gamabunta and Tsunade had summoned the leader of all slugs, Kitsuii.

"What's going on here?" Gamabunta asked immediately after eyeing the situation set before him.

"I'm sorry to have had to call you out," Jiraiya said calmly. The drug was finally beginning to completely fade away. "But I need your help once again."

Gamabunta looked at Mando. "To fight him?" he asked in a slightly annoyed voice.

Jiraiya ignored the annoyance. "Yes."

"Orochimaru," Mando hissed dangerously. "Why have you called me out to fight these two?"

"Please, Mando-sama," Kabuto answered for Orochimaru. "We will make the necessary sacrifices for-"

"Keep your tongue in your mouth, boy," Mando spat as he hissed again. "You don't seem to know to whom you are speaking."

Kabuto winced slightly from the sharp words but kept silent. _He doesn't want to talk to me because I lack the power Orochimaru-sama has,_ he thought. _If he finds out that Orochimaru can't use his arms, though, we're dead._

"Orochimaru," Mando said again. "I demand 100 human sacrifices for compensation."

"Yes," Orochimaru replied curtly. "You'll get what you want."

"Kitsuii," Tsunade said.

"Yes?" the giant slug replied.

"Could you please take Naruto over to where Shizune is. I believe she is awake now," Tsunade asked.

"Of course," Kitsuii said. She made a small clone of herself and the clone carried Naruto over to Shizune.

Shizune was still a little groggy but upon seeing Naruto, she forced herself to completely wake up. She quickly continued the healing process that Tsunade had started.

"Then let's end this quickly," Gamabunta said taking out his gigantic sword. "In fact, I've always wanted a snake skin bag."

Mando narrowed his yellow eyes at the red frog king but said nothing.

Tsunade took the opportunity to make the first move. "Kitsuii!"

"Zeshi Nensan (Acid of a Thousand Fangs)!" Kitsuii yelled and sprayed the deadly acid straight for Mando.

Mando dodged out of the way just in time. The acid flew past him and landed on a boulder which began to melt down under the acidity. Mando then lunged forward as quickly as lightening and caught Kitsuii in his coils.

"Tsunade!" Kitsuii shouted. Tsunade knew what Kitsuii meant and quickly leaped off of her fighting partner. Then Kitsuii burst into a thousand tiny clones of herself escaping the coils of the giant snake.

"Combo attack!" Jiraiya shouted to Gamabunta. Gamabunta nodded his head and leaped into the air. "Katon: Gamayo Emudan (Fire Blowing)!" Jiraiya yelled and put his hand up to his mouth to shoot his flame.

"Gamabunta Oil!" Gamabunta said at the same time and took in a deep breath. A stream of oil followed quickly by a stream of fire shot through the air at Mando who was distracted by the many tiny slug clones that had escaped his grasp. The attack hit Mando right in the chest but both Jiraiya and Gamabunta knew that he wasn't out yet.

"This is getting troublesome," Mando hissed and shed his singed skin revealing perfectly unharmed, new skin. "I'm going underground."

Orochimaru and Kabuto leaped back right behind Mando's head so that they wouldn't get pushed off when Mando started burrowing.

"Oh no you don't!" Gamabunta said dropping his sword in a hurry. He grabbed onto the snake's tail just as it was about to disappear into the earth, but Mando's head was starting to break through the surface behind Gamabunta.

Tsunade ran for Gamabunta's enormous sword and using some of her Chakra, lifted it up into the air. "AHHH!" she shouted with a surge of energy as she leaped up into the air with the sword in her grasp.

Just as Mando's head broke through the ground, Tsunade pointed the sword straight down and plunged it into the roof of the snake king's mouth pinning it to the ground.

Mando hissed and writhed in pain but couldn't get his head unstuck. "Orochimaru!" he screeched in agony. "Next time we meet, prepare to face the consequences!" Then with a puff of smoke, the giant snake disappeared.

Orochimaru was furious that Tsunade could defeat his summon. He whipped out his tongue and elongated it. In a split second, he had his tongue wrapped around Tsunade's neck and he began pulling back trying to choke her.

Tsunade gasped for air as she felt her wind pipe being constricted. But as she flew through the air towards Orochimaru, she was able to get the tongue off of her neck and she held on.

Orochimaru realized his mistake but it was too late. Tsunade came flying towards him with a fist pulled back ready to punch. There wasn't enough time for either Orochimaru or Kabuto to stop her attack and her fist came in contact with Orochimaru's face sending him off backwards.

"Orochimaru-sama!" Kabuto yelled but the two Sannin were already too far away for him to get there in time to do anything.

Tsunade pulled back on Orochimaru's tongue causing him to spring back towards her and her waiting fist. She kept punching and kicking him over and over again, never releasing his tongue so that she could always pull him back to her. Finally she grabbed onto Orochimaru's tongue with both hands and swung him around. Orochimaru went flying towards Gamabunta's upright sword and he collided with the handle of the gigantic weapon completely paralyzed. Tsunade had lost a lot of energy from all the techniques and attacks she had done and slumped down to the ground panting for air.

Kabuto finally caught up to Orochimaru and knew that they had to retreat. "We've got to retreat, Orochimaru-sama," he said as he swung his master's arm over his shoulder.

"Wait," Orochimaru rasped as blood flowed out from his mouth. "Just let me say this, Tsunade."

Tsunade looked up with loathing in her eyes to listen to her former teammate.

"You were not the only way I could have my arms healed," he said with a weak laugh. "Don't think you've stopped me just yet."

Tsunade tried to move towards Orochimaru but couldn't since her body was completely exhausted.

With a final laugh, Orochimaru and Kabuto disappeared into the ground.

"I'll be going then," Gamabunta said to Jiraiya once they saw Orochimaru leave. "Along with those two." He was indicating the two tiny frogs that Jiraiya and Naruto had summoned earlier. With three puffs of smoke, the frogs disappeared. Kitsuii could do nothing more of any help here so she disappeared as well.

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune called and ran up to her leaving Naruto who was now much better than before.

Tsunade smiled weakly at her assistant as her face began to age.

"What's happening?" Shizune asked worriedly.

"Oh, don't worry about this," Tsunade said. "Once I rest up, I'll be back to my youthful looks again. Now help me up, please."

Shizune breathed a sigh of relief and helped support her to stand up.

Jiraiya had gone to get Sora and came back with her unconscious form in his arms. "We should go," he said to the two women. "Everyone needs a good rest and some time to heal."

Tsunade nodded in agreement and looked from Sora to Naruto. _They're both going to be ok,_ she thought. Then the group began to walk their long journey back to Tanzaku City since no one had enough Chakra to transport them all.


	12. Part XII: Healing

Part XII: Healing 

Sora slowly opened her eyes but couldn't see anything, just a blur of different shades of light with every blink. "Uh?" she said groggily. As her vision cleared she looked around her and saw that she was back in the hotel room on one of the beds. She sat up slowly since by now she had learned never to get up quickly after being out for a while. She moved a hand up to her forehead and saw that someone had marked healing seals on her skin. _Tsunade-sama!_ she thought immediately. She swung her legs off of the bed and got up. She glanced around the room and her reflection in the mirror caught her eye. There were symbols all up and down her arms and legs as well as around her neck. She guessed that the patterns went on to her stomach, chest, and back as well. _Then she must've won! _She quickly went to the door and was about to open it when it opened for her.

"Sora!" Tsunade gasped in surprise when they almost collided.

Sora was speechless at the sight of Tsunade. She looked just like she always did, not a scratch on her.

Tsunade saw that Sora was in complete shock from something. She gently smiled and took her arm and led her back to the bed. "I was just going to come back in here to check on you," she said.

"Tsu-Tsunade-sama," Sora finally managed to get out.

"Let me check you over before you start talking too much," Tsunade laughed. "That kid's Chakra was hard to get out."

Sora stayed still as Tsunade inspected her arms, legs, and the rest of her body.

"I didn't have any supplies other than my own Chakra so I had to do this primitive healing seal," Tsunade explained. "Normal healing Chakra would not have been enough in this situation."

Sora nodded still unsure whether she should speak or not.

"Well, I think that you're well enough to walk at least so we can go back to Konoha today," Tsunade said standing up. "The seals will go away once you're completely healed so don't worry if it doesn't come off in the next few days."

Sora nodded again still afraid to speak.

"Oh, you can talk if you want to now," Tsunade said realizing why Sora hadn't responded.

"H-how-what happened?" Sora asked.

Tsunade looked down but kept her smile. "I'm sorry that I couldn't help sooner. I was too weak to get over my fears, but then that kid." She stopped to chuckle.

"Naruto?"

Tsunade nodded. "He's got incredible will power and stamina," she said shaking her head wonderingly. "He inspired me, I guess. The distance he went to protect you…it was truly amazing."

_Protect me?_ Sora thought. "Is he ok?"

"Oh yeah, he's got incredible healing power, too," Tsunade added. "He's as good as ever. His minor wounds are completely gone while his more serious ones are healing very nicely."

Sora had no recollection of her fight with Naruto and didn't realize that most of his major injuries came from when she had beaten him up. "Where is he?" she asked.

"He's in the other room with Shizune and Jiraiya waiting for you," Tsunade answered. "I'll go out to let you change first, then you can come if you want." With that, the blonde Sannin went out the door and closed it behind her.

Sora sighed from relief. "They're all ok," she breathed. Then she saw her washed clothes on the other bed. She quickly changed and made sure that the still visible bruises on her neck were hidden and then went to the door. _Everyone healed so much more quickly than I did,_ she thought. _And I don't remember getting injured too seriously. What did Tsunade mean when she said that Kabuto's Chakra was hard to get rid of? Did he do something that I couldn't sense?_

She paused with her hand hovering over the doorknob. _And everyone else had gotten much more injured than I had. Naruto has gotten so strong now. He's grown more than I've ever grown in week. _She couldn't help but feel extremely inferior to her happy-go-lucky teammate now. When she had first met him, he was strong but lacked control over anything he tried to do. Now it seemed that he was stronger than she was. Sora suddenly shook her head. _No, I can't get jealous,_ she thought. _He's…he's a friend._ She finally moved her hand down to turn the knob and opened the door.

When Naruto saw the doorknob move, he immediately sprung up from the couch. "Sora-chan!" he nearly shouted with happiness. He ran over to her and captured her in a tight embrace. He would've kissed her if the adults hadn't been in the room.

"Naruto," Sora murmured and returned the embrace.

"So she's finally awake," Jiraiya said with a chuckle.

"We were all so worried," Shizune said quickly after Jiraiya's comment. She shot a frown at the Frog Tamer.

"What?" he asked to annoy her.

Naruto finally released Sora but kept his arms around her waist. "We should head back to the village now, right?" he said turning around so that he was facing the others.

Tsunade nodded.

"Oh yes," Jiraiya said standing up. "Konoha is waiting for the arrival of the new Hokage." He gave a mock bow to Tsunade and smirked.

Tsunade rolled her eyes and ignored him. "Everything is packed so we can start right away."

Within minutes, the group was on the country roads heading back towards Konoha. Everything seemed so peaceful to Naruto as he walked beside his teammate. The three adults were busily talking or arguing about something up ahead leaving him and Sora to themselves.

"Hey, Sora-chan," Naruto said with a sly grin.

Sora turned her head to give him a questioning glance.

"I forgot to tell you," he said as he reached his hand down into his jacket. He pulled out a thin chain. "I won the bet."

Sora's face quickly lit up in a smile when she saw the glowing crystal that Tsunade used to wear in Naruto's hand. "I knew you did," she said with a laugh.

Naruto beamed with pride and let the crystal fall down to his chest. "She even told me that I could become Hokage someday, you know?" He grabbed her hand.

"Really?" Sora chided. "Well if you become Hokage, then what would I be?"

Naruto smirked with a sly glint in his eye. "Hm, my girlfriend?"

Sora slightly twitched but showed nothing more keeping her smile. "Naruto, you realize that a Hokage can't be distracted with something like that," she said trying to keep the joking tone in her voice.

Naruto moved his hand so that his arm was around her waist. He pulled her towards him. "I'm serious though," he said. His playful smile turned into a serious one. "Will you be mine?"

Sora couldn't answer. Everything came rushing back to her with his words. Her weaknesses, her frustration, her promise… "I…I…"

"You don't have to answer yet," Naruto said quickly seeing that she was uncomfortable, "but please think about it." He placed a quick kiss on her cheek.

Sora silently thanked Naruto for not pushing the subject any further. She didn't want to make any choice like that any time soon. There were too many things that needed to be done for there to be time for a relationship. _Sasuke…_ Sora didn't want to tell anyone about her and Sasuke, especially Naruto. She knew that he would either take it silently on the outside but kill himself on the inside, or he would get angry at both her and Sasuke. Sora shuddered at the thought of Naruto and Sasuke fighting over her. Couldn't they see that she just wasn't ready for a relationship like that? Couldn't anyone see?

Throughout the rest of way back, which they only stopped twice to eat, Naruto didn't mention his proposal again. He knew that he needed to give Sora her space so he tried to act normally and to get her to act the same even though he wanted so desperately to know Sora's answer.

They reached Konoha that evening while the sun was still setting. At the gates, the guards immediately recognized Jiraiya and Tsunade and let the group enter. Word spread quickly throughout the village that two of the three Legendary Sannin had arrived.

As they walked through the village streets, people dropped what they were doing to stare at the group. Many started following them so it became a sort of procession to the hospital. The braver villagers even began speaking to Tsunade and Jiraiya asking if they had come back to stay. All of Konoha was soon buzzing with sounds of rejoicing, relief, and curiosity.

When they finally arrived at the hospital, the crowd stayed outside as the group went in. Upon hearing the door open, the receptionist looked up. Her eyes widened in amazement. "Tsu-Tsunade-sama!" she gasped. She dropped what she was doing and got out from behind the counter. "Oh my god, it's Tsunade-sama!" she practically screamed. Nurses and doctors from all across the hospital heard the cry and came to the lobby to see what was going on.

"It…it can't be…" "It's Tsunade-sama! The greatest Medic-nin in the history of Konoha!"

Tsunade frowned at all the attention. "I came for the patients, not for gaping," she snapped.

Naruto grabbed her arm. "First is Sasuke," he urged as he pulled her towards the stairs.

The other medics stood aside as Tsunade was led to the stairs followed by Shizune who was carrying Tonton, then Jiraiya and Sora. They climbed the stairs and finally entered Sasuke's room. The group was immediately hit with the smell of a garden of flowers and sure enough, there were countless bouquets and baskets of flowers surrounding his bed, on the table, lining the walls. All of which were from his admirers which were suspiciously all girls. He was still unconscious though and had many machines attached to him. Sora took a deep breath at the sight of him even though she knew that he was in good hands. She nervously readjusted her collar.

Tsunade had to step over some flower vases in order to get around the room. "This is ridiculous," she muttered under her breath when she finally got to the bed. She inspected the unconscious boy.

"You can heal him, right?" Naruto asked.

Tsunade sighed. "Yes," she said shortly and proceeded to make seals. "Take these ridiculous machines off of him." Shizune obeyed immediately and soon Sasuke was free from any needles or masks. Tsunade put her hands on his forehead and concentrated her energy into him. A greenish glow flowed from her hands into Sasuke's body. The room was completely silent. Then Tsunade took her hands away. "He'll be up tomorrow morning," she said. "He's breathing normally now."

Naruto gave a sigh of relief. "Then we should go see Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said as he quickly led Tsunade out of the room. Shizune followed in obedient silence and Jiraiya followed them. He paused a bit at the door and looked back at Sora who hadn't moved. "Are you going to stay?" he asked.

Sora looked up in surprise. "Uh," she stammered out. She looked at Sasuke. He already looked much better than before. His chest was rising and falling rhythmically and his face didn't look so pale. "No, I'm coming." She stepped over the scattered flowers past Jiraiya who was holding the door and went towards her sensei's room.

When she arrived, she saw that Tsunade was already in the process of healing Kakashi. Sora quietly entered with Jiraiya behind her. Tsunade finally stepped back. "Ah," she said with a sigh. "His injuries weren't as bad as Sasuke's so he'll be up in a second or so."

Sora and Naruto held their breath and kept their eyes glued to their sensei. Sure enough, Kakashi's eyes flickered open. "Uh…?" he groaned slightly. His vision was hazy.

"Sensei!" Sora gasped. She immediately ran over to the bed and flung her arms around him. She buried her face in his shoulder and let the tears come. "Sensei…oh my god…sensei," she whispered over and over again.

Kakashi was a little shocked but then realized what was going on. He wrapped his arms around his student. "Sora…"

"Sensei!" Naruto almost shouted. "Wow, I can't believe you healed so quickly! Sasuke won't be up until tomorrow!"

Kakashi looked up at Naruto with a questioning glance. "Sasuke?"

"So the great Hatake Kakashi was defeated so easily by some strangers," Tsunade remarked raising an eyebrow at Kakashi.

Sora pulled back to let Kakashi speak more formally with Tsunade. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and calmed her breathing.

Kakashi looked away. "I'm sorry," he said.

Tsunade sighed. "And you're considered a genius," she mocked. "I'm disappointed."

"Hey!" Naruto said angrily. "He just woke up for God's sake!"  
"All right, all right," Tsunade said waving her hand through the air. "Who's next?"

"Lee," Naruto said.

"Well then," Tsunade said with a slight yawn. She exited the room and signaled for Shizune to follow. Jiraiya also left. Naruto was about to when Sora stopped him.

"Uh, Naruto-kun?"

"Hm?"

"I'll stay here for now," she said softly.

Naruto nodded. "Of course," he said. "Glad to see you awake again, Sensei."

Kakashi nodded still a little dazed and Naruto left the room. He watched the door close and silence filled the room. He looked at Sora who was sitting next to him on his bed. "Sora," he said softly and lifted her chin so that he could see her face.

Her cheeks were stained with tears and her eyes glistened in the lighting from the room. "Sensei," she whispered. Her voice was shaky. "I…I'm glad you're awake." She tried to smile.

Kakashi pulled her forward to embrace her again. He felt her arms slide around his neck as she leaned the side of her head against his. It felt so good to be holding her again.

"I was so scared," she said as she shook with new tears forming. "They said that you wouldn't be able to wake up for…I don't know how long."

"Sora, it's ok," Kakashi said holding her more tightly than before. "Please don't cry. Not on my account."

Sora pulled back a little and moved her arms so that she could touch his face.

Kakashi felt his heart race as he felt Sora's delicate fingers slide down his cheek.

"No, Sensei," she said letting her hands drop. "If I lost you…I…and there was Sasuke. Then that horrible mission Naruto and I had to... I just felt like our whole team was falling apart. Everyone's life was on the line…if one of you had died…" She trailed off to keep herself from crying again.

Kakashi could only move his hand up to her cheek and wipe the tears away. "But you succeeded in your mission. Tsunade-sama is here now and she's healed Sasuke and me." He smiled through his mask. He knew that Sora felt that it was her fault that all this had happened. "You punish yourself too much."

Sora looked up. "What?"

Kakashi chuckled. "Hm," he said once he noticed the markings on her arms. He gently pulled one of them forward for inspection.

Sora's face became red with embarrassment and she tried to pull it back.

"What's this?" Kakashi asked kindly tracing the patterns with his eye.

"Tsu-Tsunade-sama had to heal me during the mission," Sora said. "It's nothing to worry about."

But Kakashi had seen these same seals before and knew that they were only given if absolutely necessary. "What happened on the mission that forced Tsunade-sama to use this technique?" he asked.

Sora suddenly pulled her arm back and got off the bed. "Don't worry about me," she said quickly. "You should be worrying about yourself."

"Sora, you can tell me-"

"It's nothing," she insisted. "Tsunade-sama said that the marks will go away within a few days."

Kakashi sighed. _She's too stubborn,_ he thought, but he decided to drop the subject for now.

"You should probably get back to sleep now," Sora continued. "You're still not fully recovered."

Kakashi rolled his eyes and decided to ignore her last comment. "Ahh!" he said while stretching. "How long have I been out?"

Sora stared at him shocked at his change of mood. "Uh, I…I don't really know," she stammered out.

"Oh?" Kakashi said. "That long huh? Well, I'd better get out of this hospital or I'll be completely broke."

Sora raised an eyebrow. "Sensei, you can't-"

"Help me up, Sora," Kakashi interrupted and pushed the blankets off of himself.

"But-"

"You know I can't stand hospitals," he cut her off again. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and held out his hand towards Sora.

Sora hesitantly took it and put his arm over her shoulders. She helped lift him up so that he was standing. He was extremely wobbly at first but she soon steadied him. "You're not seriously thinking of going home tonight are you?" Sora asked once they began walking towards the door.

"Why not?"

"Sensei!" Sora exclaimed. "Weren't you listening to me? You aren't completely healed yet!"

"Sora, I feel absolutely fine," he said. "And I really, really dislike hospitals. Now come walk me home."

Sora was about to argue but one look at Kakashi's visible eye told her that he wasn't going to change his mind. "Fine," she muttered. _He's too stubborn,_ she thought.

The pair made it down the stairs and to the front desk surprising the receptionist. "Kakashi-sensei!" she exclaimed almost dropping her files. "You shouldn't be walking yet! You-"

"Please," Kakashi said holding up a hand to stop her. "I'm perfectly well enough to go home."

Sora rolled her eyes telling the receptionist that he was too stubborn to change his mind. "Oh, fine then," the receptionist said a little flustered. She flipped through her files and found Kakashi's. "Just sign here," she said putting the paper in front of him on the counter.

Kakashi took the pen on the counter and signed his name without even reading it and gave it back to the receptionist. "Thank you very much for your services," he said with a hidden smile.

The receptionist could only nod in response.

Soon Sora and Kakashi were walking slowly back to Kakashi's apartment. _Well,_ Sora thought, _at least I get to find out where he lives._ She looked up at her sensei. _But he lives alone. He shouldn't have left the hospital. What if something bad happens during the night? What if…?_ "Uh, Sensei," she said timidly.

"Hm?"

"I was just wondering…"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow and looked at her.

"I really think you shouldn't have left the hospital, but since I know you're not going to change your mind you should have someone watch you tonight," she said quickly before he could object.

"Sora, I'm perfectly-"

"Please!" Sora interrupted and stopped walking. "Sensei, Naruto and I could stay with you tonight just in case. If it doesn't matter to you then at least it will make me feel better!" Sora didn't want to put herself in an awkward position with her sensei so she included Naruto in her request.

Kakashi sighed. _If it was just Sora, I wouldn't mind so much,_ he thought. _You pervert. Hehe, I know._ "Fine, if it makes you feel better," he finally said.

Sora took in a deep breath. "Finally you listen to me," she muttered.

Kakashi laughed. "I always listen to you."

Sora frowned. "Only when I beg you."

They arrived at Sora's own apartment building. "Here we are," Kakashi announced.

Sora's eyes widened in surprise. "You live here?" she asked.

"Why yes," Kakashi said.

"This…this is my apartment building…you mean to tell me that you've been living here all this time without me even knowing?" she exclaimed. "God, I feel like such an idiot!" _I couldn't even find out where my sensei lived all this time and he's in the same building…_

Kakashi chuckled. "Well, that just means that you still have a lot of training to do, huh?" he chided.

Sora glared at her sensei. "You're impossible," she said shaking her head.

Once they got up the stairs and to Kakashi's apartment. Sora led him over to the couch and made him lie down. "Don't try to do anything stressful while I get Naruto, ok?" she ordered.

Kakashi chuckled. "You've become so uptight," he said with a laugh. "It must be because I wasn't there to loosen you up every day."

Sora frowned. "I'll be right back so don't you dare try to leave!" she said. "I'll cook dinner and everything so just rest, please?"

Kakashi smiled. "Sure," he said. "Really Sora, you worry too much."

"And you don't worry at all," Sora countered. She turned to leave. "Promise me you'll rest?"

Kakashi laughed. "Of course, of course." Soon she was out of sight and he heard the door close. _I would do anything for you,_ he thought with a sigh.

Sora went straight back to the hospital to get Naruto and check up on Sasuke. When she arrived, she found that Tsunade was done healing people and that she, Shizune, and Jiraiya had gone off somewhere. Naruto had gone home so she decided to check on Sasuke first and then get Naruto since she only wanted to peek in to see if Sasuke was doing better. She cracked the door open and stuck her head in. He was still unconscious but he looked peaceful in his sea of flowers. _When he wakes up, he'll be thrilled to have so many admirers,_ she thought with a laugh. She closed the door softly and with that she left the hospital with a smile on her face.

The rest of the night went smoothly. Naruto readily agreed to stay with Kakashi and Sora for the night and when the two got to Kakashi's apartment, he hadn't moved from the couch. In fact, he had fallen asleep reading a book which was now covering his face.

_Finally! He actually listened to me!_ Sora thought.

There was only one bedroom and Naruto insisted that she should have the bed and he would sleep on the floor in the living room to keep an eye on Kakashi. So after a quick dinner, which Kakashi slept through, the two Genins washed up and went to bed.

Early the next morning, Naruto woke to the smell of food. He glanced over at Kakashi who was still asleep and then got up. He followed his nose to the kitchen and saw that Sora had made a big breakfast for him and Kakashi but she was nowhere to be seen. A note on the table explained that she had gone to the hospital to see Sasuke and that she should be back soon.

Naruto immediately felt jealous when he read the note. He was about to crinkle it up and throw it away when he stopped himself. _I'm sure she's just doing it because he's a teammate,_ Naruto tried to convince himself. _Yeah, if it was me, she would do the same._ He felt mildly satisfied and proceeded to wake Kakashi for breakfast.

Sora made her way to the hospital by herself in the early morning after she had cooked Naruto and Kakashi breakfast. There were only a few people at the hospital that early so she signed herself in and went up to Sasuke's room. She listened at the door and heard the creaking of the springs of a bed. Her heart raced. _He's up already?_ she thought as she slowly opened the door. Sasuke was sitting up on the bed looking out the window. She couldn't speak. She was stunned.

Sasuke turned his head at the new presence and saw Sora. "Sora," he breathed completely surprised.

Sora could only stare at him as he quickly got off the bed and made his way over to her. She felt his arms surround her and heard him shut the door. Finally she found her voice. "Sa-Sasuke!" she gasped. She pulled back to see his face. _He's…he's awake…he's ok!_ she thought as she traced his face with her fingers. "Sasuke!" she said again and embraced him.

Sasuke welcomed the embrace and held her tightly. "Sora, what happened?" he asked. His mind was still a bit obscured and his memory wasn't fully recuperated.

Sora pulled back so that they could talk face to face. "Sasuke, you were out for, I don't know how long…and then we went to find Tsunade-sama and she healed you!" Sora said in a rush of words. She placed a hand on Sasuke's cheek. "I was so worried."

_I was out for that long?_ he thought. _And "we" went to find Tsunade-sama?_ He looked at her questioningly. Then he remembered the reason why he was in the hospital to begin with. His memory came back in a flash and his hands dropped. He turned away from Sora.

"Sasuke?" Sora asked. "Are you all right?"

Sasuke glanced back at Sora but didn't say anything. _I failed, didn't I?_ he asked himself. _My chance…that day was the day. Why couldn't I kill him? Why couldn't I even touch him? It was like the gap between us hadn't changed at all from when we were younger. He's still so much more powerful than I am. _

Sora gingerly touched his arm. "Sasuke," she said cautiously. She could feel his tension.

Sasuke got a hold of himself at the sound of Sora's voice. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply to calm his anger. "I'm fine," he said. _I need to stop showing my emotions so openly in front of her. I'll deal with _him_ on my own,_ he thought. He glanced at Sora who was looking at him with worry in her eyes. He felt a pang of guilt in his heart for being the cause of it. _Yeah, it's my problem and mine alone._ He grasped her hand. "I'm sorry for worrying you," he said looking at her hand instead of her face.

Sora raised an eyebrow. "What? Don't be sorry. You can't help that I worry so much about all of you."

Sasuke twitched slightly at the mention of "all of you," but covered quickly and pulled her towards the bed. There was now a little pathway amongst the masses of flowers since Sasuke didn't bother taking the time to step over them. He just pushed them to the side with his feet as he walked. He sat down on the bed still holding her hand. He still felt a little weak but he wasn't going to show it so openly. "But what about you? How did you find the Sannin?" he asked trying to turn the subject from him to her.

"Uh," Sora said automatically and touched a hand to her neck subconsciously. "Jiraiya-sensei, Naruto, and I went off to find her. Jiraiya-sensei basically knew where to go and then…" She thought back on the battle of the three Sannin and decided not to talk about Orochimaru in front of Sasuke. "…Naruto convinced her to come back with us." She sat down next to him.

Sasuke twitched again at the mention of Naruto.

Sora didn't notice. "He's gotten much stronger than before, Sasuke," she said with a smile. "He really does see you as a friend. Otherwise he wouldn't have worked so hard to get Tsunade-sama to come back."

Sasuke grunted and swung his legs up on the bed and leaned his back against the wall.

Sora sighed in exasperation. "What's wrong with you two? You both act like you're enemies. We're supposed to be a team."

Sasuke closed his eyes and put his hands behind his head.

Sora shook her head and got up. "Ok, sorry, I shouldn't have brought that up," she said. "I'll let you rest now." She started towards the door but felt Sasuke grab her wrist. She turned to face him with a questioning look.

"Sora," he said and sat up again. He pulled her towards him causing her to fall back to the bed. "Do you still love me?" He slid his arms around her body and brought her legs up so that she was completely on the bed. His hand traced up and down her spine as he spoke.

Sora shivered. "I…yes," she stuttered. _You idiot,_ she hissed at herself but she did love him as a friend and teammate. She reasoned with herself that she wasn't completely lying.

Sasuke leaned forward so that his face was buried in her hair while continuing to stroke her back. He kissed the silky strands enjoying the smooth, fresh feeling on his lips. He pulled back and lifted her chin. "Then kiss me," he said.

Sora tensed. "Sasuke, I don't think-"

"If you love me, kiss me," he said again in a soft yet demanding voice.

Sora pulled back. "Come on, Sasuke. You just woke up and you need rest." She tried to pull free from his embrace but he held her down.

"We've been apart for so long," he whispered his voice becoming low and rough. He placed a hand on her cheek and ran his thumb across her smooth lips. "Just one kiss."

Sora didn't want to do it, but she didn't see any way out of it. She had told him she loved him. She knew that he loved her fiercely and if she pushed him away now, he might do something drastic. _Just one kiss,_ she thought. She didn't want to lie to Sasuke. _But I do love him,_ she told herself. _That night we shared…I felt something…something different. _It was true that she had never gotten as close to another person in her entire life as she did with Sasuke, not only physically but emotionally as well. _It has to be love._ She moved her head closer to his.

Sasuke's breath quickened when he saw her lean in. Then he felt her gentle, sweet lips brush against his own, but it wasn't enough for him. He completely lost control. Everything was coming back to life now that she was here with him.

Sora started to pull away but Sasuke wouldn't let her. His hands moved behind her head and on her back pushing her ever more towards him. She let out a sound of protest but he ignored it.

Sasuke leaned forward forcing Sora to grasp onto his shoulders for support. He brought her slowly down so that she was lying on her back on the bed and he was on top of her without ever breaking their kiss. Now that he was in the dominant position, he pushed forward with more hunger than before and forced her lips apart as he slid his tongue in. He had every detail of her mouth memorized so now he just wanted to enjoy her addicting taste.

Sora found herself thinking back on all the times she and Sasuke had kissed and then the times when Naruto had kissed her just as passionately. She breathed through her nose since Sasuke wasn't letting up and she couldn't pull away. _How can I choose?_ she thought. _They both love me and I…I love them both as well. I can't-_

Sasuke finally broke for air after an extremely long time. They both let out a gasp when their lips parted as they inhaled the heated air. But Sasuke lost no time in trying to recapture her precious lips again.

"Sasuke," Sora panted just as he was about to kiss her again. She put up a hand to his lips. It made him stop moving towards her but he looked deeply into her eyes. "I…I need to go," she whispered.

"Why?" Sasuke asked not moving.

"Kakashi-sensei and Naruto are going to be expecting me back soon and-"

"Naruto?" Sasuke interrupted.

Sora blinked in surprise. "Yes," she said cautiously.

"Why would he be expecting you?" Sasuke asked narrowing his eyes.

Sora knew what he was thinking. "Sasuke, don't think of him like that!" she said and tried to push him up.

Sasuke refused to move. "I don't want you to go," he growled. "Not to him."

"Sasuke, please," Sora said. "It…it's not like that at all."

Without warning, Sasuke closed in and began kissing her cheek making his way to her ear. He wanted her to be with him and only him. He moved his hand up to unbutton her collar.

Sora felt his movement and grabbed his hand. _No, those marks aren't gone yet,_ she thought. _I've got to get out of here before he..._ She used her other hand to try and push herself upwards but he only took her motion towards him as a sign to push down even harder. Sasuke reached again for her collar and this time grasped onto the top button. Sora couldn't pull his hand away without ripping the button off. "Sasuke," she pleaded. "We've got to stop this." Then a knock was heard at the door. The sound caused Sasuke to pause for a split second giving Sora enough time to push them both up to a sitting position. She quickly got off the bed.

"Sora-" The knocking became louder.

Sora clamped a hand over his mouth. "Uh, yes?" she called to the door expecting it to be a nurse.

The door swung open revealing three girls around Sora's and Sasuke's age holding presents in their hands for Sasuke, but once they saw Sora, they were speechless.

Sora quickly removed her hand from Sasuke's mouth and blushed. "Uh, I think it's best if I go now…" she tried to say quietly without moving her lips. She started towards the door but Sasuke confidently grabbed onto her wrist.

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked the three girls in the doorway. He knew them from the academy and they all annoyed the hell out of him.

The bravest of the three stepped forward ignoring Sora. "Oh, Sasuke-kun! I can't believe you're better now!" she cried as she put on her cutest smile. "I brought you your favorite flower." She showed him an extremely rare black rose.

The other two girls then rushed forward so as not to be outdone by their friend. "He doesn't like flowers!" one declared. "Sasuke-kun, I brought your favorite chocolates. My daddy brought them back for me from his trip but I want you to-"

"Sasuke-kun," the last one interrupted as she slightly shoved the other two out of the way. "I made you this get well soon card and I wrote you a poem inside!"

Sasuke glared at all three of them and pulled Sora closer to him.

The three girls' mouths dropped open.

"Sasuke," Sora protested.

Sasuke was extremely annoyed now. He wanted those other three girls out. They had ruined his perfect moment with Sora. "We were busy," he said coldly to the girls. "Please leave."

The girls looked like they were about to cry and they ran out of the room leaving their presents behind.

Sora pulled her arm away from Sasuke. "That was rude," she said. "They were only glad that you've recovered."

Sasuke put a hand up to his forehead. "Sora," he said as he rubbed his temples, "you can't even tell if a guy's hitting on you so you obviously couldn't see that those girls were trying to hit on me." He sighed and got off the bed.

Sora was a little flustered. "What's that supposed to mean?" she demanded.

Sasuke smirked and grabbed her hand again. "Like now. Am I hitting on you?" he asked. He kept walking forward forcing Sora to back up against the wall. His other hand slipped down to her waist and his face was dangerously close to hers.

"I would guess so," Sora answered sarcastically. "But really, you should at least apologize to those girls," she added quickly trying to change the subject.

Sasuke said nothing and kept his smirk as his hand slid up her side towards her collar again.

Sora saw what he was about to do and quickly slipped out from in between him and the wall. "But I've got to go now," she said completely changing her tone. "You'd better rest up because later today's going to be Tsunade-sama's initiation."

"Sora-"

"Nobody should miss it," Sora continued pretending like she didn't hear Sasuke.

"Just-"

"So I'll see you there, ok?" Sora said and inched towards the door. She finally turned around and quickly reached for the doorknob but her hand only touched air.

Sasuke had held her arm back before she could reach the knob. "I…I don't want you to go," he said in the most pleading voice he could muster.

Sora sighed and turned around. "It's not like I'm leaving you forever," she said softly. "Why do you want me to stay so badly?"

"Because," Sasuke said pulling her closer, "I love you." _And I don't want you to go to him,_ he thought narrowing his eyes at the thought of Naruto.

Sora knew what he was thinking and it reminded her about Naruto's proposal. _It's going to be difficult when they see each other again,_ she thought miserably.

Sasuke started to kiss the part of her neck that wasn't covered by her collar as he placed his hands on her waist keeping her still.

"S-Sasuke," she stuttered getting extremely nervous that he was so close to the bruises. She grabbed Sasuke's head and moved it so that their foreheads were touching. She looked down. "I-If you love me, then you would take care of yourself," she whispered still not removing her hands from his head.

"What does that have to do-"

"Hey, I care about you too," she interrupted pulling back. "If you take my advice and rest now, then it would show me that you care about me." She smiled at her genius logic.

Sasuke looked at Sora strangely. "Uh…"

"So," Sora continued completely ignoring the confused look she was getting from the boy in front of her. "I'll see you at Tsunade-sama's initiation then, ok?" She slipped out of Sasuke's grasp and opened the door. "It's at ten at the Hokage's tower."

Sasuke just stared at Sora still slightly confused.

Sora laughed at his expression then slipped out of the room and shut the door behind her. Her smile became a sigh of exasperation. _Like I said before, no one listens to me,_ she thought. Then she made her way down the stairs and signed out of the hospital. It was already around eight. Sora made her way to her apartment building but went to Kakashi's room instead of her own. She unlocked the door, since she had taken the spare key with her and entered.

"Sora-chan!" Naruto's voice greeted her.

"Morning, Naruto-kun," she returned.

Naruto got up from where he was sitting and made his way over to her. He looked her over as he approached. _It doesn't look like Sasuke did anything to her,_ he thought. _Good._ He pulled her into an embrace. "I missed you this morning," he said.

Sora slightly gasped but kept her thoughts hidden. "I wanted to beat the traffic so I got up early," she said with a forced laugh.

"Huh? Traffic?" Naruto asked confused.

Sora smiled. "To Sasuke's room," she answered. "I predicted that he was going to get a lot of visitors since he was healed."

"Oh," Naruto said and smiled back. "Yeah, that's probably true."

"But is Kakashi-sensei up yet?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "He hasn't moved since last night," he said. "Even your breakfast couldn't wake him up."

Sora smiled. "Well, my cooking isn't that great."

"Yeah right," Naruto returned. "I had to hold myself back from eating it all. Heh, it's almost better than ramen." He gave a cheesy grin.

It was Sora's turn to roll her eyes. "Right," she said. She knew how much he absolutely adored ramen so she took it that he meant it as a very high compliment.

The two went to the living room where their sensei was still out like a light on the couch. He still had that book on his face that he had been reading the night before. It rose and fell with his heavy breathing. Sora walked up to the couch and placed a hand on Kakashi's arm. She smiled to herself and looked him over to make sure he was healing properly. When her eyes got to his head, she saw what book he had been reading. _Icha Icha Paradise_. Her eyes went round.

Naruto sensed the tension. "What, Sora?" he asked and walked up to her. Then he saw what had caught her eye. "Hey, it's one of the perverted hermit's books!" he said excitedly. He quickly grabbed it off of his sensei's face and looked more closely at it.

"Naruto, you pervert!" Sora exclaimed and snatched the book out of his hands.

"Wha-?"

"You realize what's in this book?" she nearly hissed. "It deserves to be burned!"

Then Kakashi shot up from the couch freaking his two students out. He quickly snatched the book away from Sora's grasp. "What did you say?" he asked dangerously as he eyed Sora and Naruto.

Both of the Genins were shocked and scared at his sudden outburst since they had thought he was asleep. "S-sensei," Naruto finally said after mustering up enough courage. "We weren't going to do anything with it, I swear!"

Then Sora snapped back to her usual self. "That thing isn't fit to be called a book!" she declared pointing at it.

Kakashi stood up to his full height towering over Sora and Naruto.

Naruto quickly got behind Sora in fear but Sora stood her ground and stared her sensei right in the eye with a defiant look on her face. Their gazes locked in an electric stare similar to those of Naruto and Sasuke.

_Wow,_ Naruto thought shaking with fear but also anticipation. _This is intense!_

Finally after a few more seconds of the staring contest, Kakashi's eye softened and he relaxed back into his usual slouch. "You guys are too young to understand," he said complacently as he patted Sora's head with his free hand.

Sora raised an eyebrow.

Kakashi then walked past his students and into his room. A few seconds later he came back without his book. He stretched. "Ahh! So what's for breakfast?" he asked acting like nothing had happened.

Both Naruto and Sora sweat-dropped. _He's so weird,_ Naruto thought.

_Someday,_ Sora thought, _someday I'll make him stop reading those perverted books…_

The next few hours went fairly smoothly and ten o'clock came rolling around. Sora and Naruto left Kakashi's apartment so that they could all get ready for the ceremony.

Sora put on a fancier blue dress for the occasion and then joined the crowds of people in the streets making their way towards the Hokage's tower. _Whoa,_ she thought as she found herself swallowed in the sea of people. _It'd be impossible to find anyone in this crowd unless I jumped up on a roof or something._ She glanced up at a rooftop and saw some younger academy students jumping from roof to roof beating the crowd. She smiled at their liveliness. _I wish I could just go back to the way things used to be,_ she thought with a sigh. _This is the part of growing up that I just hate._

"Sora!" someone called to her.

"Huh?" She looked around trying to pinpoint who had said her name.

"Wait up!" the voice said again.

Sora stopped walking and turned around. Then she saw Neji artfully slipping past some people to get to her. She waved. "Hey, Neji-kun!" she said.

Finally Neji was able to catch up. "Sora," he said and surprisingly caught her in an embrace.

"Uh?" Sora said completely shocked. Her face flared up.

"I was worried when I couldn't find you for the last few weeks," he said still not letting her go.

"Oh, I…uh-"

"Where've you been?" he interrupted and pulled back slightly so that they could talk.

Sora tried to get rid of the faint blush that was still apparent on her cheeks. "Uh, I'm sorry I didn't come to see you after the Chuunin matches but…but so much has happened," she stammered causing her to blush even more. _Dammit,_ she thought.

Neji slipped his hands down and caught one of hers. "Tell me as we walk," he said gently and led her to start walking again with the flow of the crowd.

Sora could do nothing but go along with him. "Well, it's just…" she started but trailed off.

Neji waited patiently for her to continue not wanting to pester her.

Sora sighed. "It's just after Orochimaru's attack…I had to go to the hospital I guess," she said slowly. "But I got better by the Hokage's funeral. It was nothing serious," she added quickly seeing that Neji was worried. "Then, uh…" She blushed even more when she thought of the night she had shared with Sasuke. Then she remembered that Neji could read minds so she quickly put that out of her mind. "Then, I don't know if you've heard but Uchiha Itachi came back to Konoha and he-well, Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke ended up in the hospital. Naruto, Jiraiya-sensei, and I had to go on a mission to find Tsunade-sama since she's the only one who could heal them." She paused slightly. "I'm sorry for not coming to see you sooner."

"No, no. It's ok," Neji said. _So much has happened to her,_ he thought. He felt guilty for being so selfish in wanting to see her. "I'm sorry. I was just being selfish."

"What? No you weren't," Sora said surprised. Then she smiled. "But how have things been for you lately?"

"Better I suppose," Neji answered. "Hiashi-sama has started helping in my training. I hope that I've improved."

"Really? That's great!"

Neji nodded. "But I've also been checking up on Lee a lot in the hospital."

"Oh," Sora said remembering Lee's critical condition. "Tsunade-sama-"

"Yes, she healed him," Neji said. "But I saw him earlier today and he told me that Tsunade-sama had told him to quit being a ninja."

"What?"  
"Gaara had completely crushed his arm and leg, but Tsunade-sama was able to heal those. The main thing was his spinal cord," Neji said. "The shattered bone in his back had latched into his spinal cord impairing his movements."  
_And that's his only hope of ever becoming a ninja,_ Sora thought.

Neji nodded after reading her thoughts. "The only way for Lee to become completely healed is a surgery," he said.

"Surgery?" Sora asked. "What kind of surgery?"

"He said it only had a 50 percent survival rate and if it failed, he would die," Neji explained.

Sora gasped. "What?"

"It's going to be a tough decision."

_50 percent?_ Sora thought. _Even for _the_ Tsunade-sama?_

The two arrived at the Hokage's tower just as the members of the village council and Tsunade herself were stepping up to the platform. The crowd quieted down as the two leaders, one male and one female, of the council stepped forward to address the people.

"Welcome all to the initiation of Konoha's Fifth Hokage!" the male said. The crowd went wild with cheers.

"But first let us take a moment to remember our fallen leader, the Third Hokage, for all that he has given us," the woman said. The crowd almost immediately quieted down to murmurs of thanks, sorrow, and admiration.

Then the council members and Tsunade stood up. Tsunade walked forward to the center of the platform.

"Now," the male leader said after a moment, "the ceremony will begin."

The ceremony consisted of the council leaders reading off the speech given at every Hokage's initiation, Tsunade swearing to protect the village of Konoha with her life, and many other formal, serious processes. Then finally Tsunade knelt down to one knee and bowed her head. The Hokage's hat was handed to the male leader of the council.

"By the power invested in me by the consent of the village council and the people of this hidden village of Konoha of the Country of Fire, I grant the title of Fifth Hokage to Sannin, Tsunade," he announced as he placed the Hokage hat on Tsunade's head.

The crowd exploded with applause and cheering as Tsunade stood up and faced the crowd. She nodded her head and smiled confidently. Then she turned back to the members of the council and they walked off the platform together. The crowd's cheering didn't die off until a few minutes later and then the buzz of excited talking filled the air.

"She really is powerful," Neji said suddenly to Sora.

Sora almost jumped from surprise but then smiled. "Yeah," she agreed.

"I could feel her power and strength from here," he continued. He turned to look at Sora.

"She's amazing, to say the least," Sora said with a laugh. Then she glanced at the sun. It was almost noon. _Whoa, the ceremony took two whole hours?_ Sora thought. "Hey, Neji-kun?"

"Hm?"

"I've got to get going to see Kakashi-sensei, so I'll see you around, ok?" she said touching his shoulder.

Neji almost blushed from her action. "Uh, yeah," he stammered.

Sora disappeared into the crowd of people.

_She's changed,_ Neji thought to himself as he continued to look towards the direction Sora had gone off in. _So many things are on her mind now…she must have gone through a lot on that mission._ Finally Neji decided that he should start training for that day. He knew that Hiashi was going to be at a special meeting with the new Hokage and Gai was going to be with Lee so he went off to find Tenten to train with him.

Sora went back to her apartment to change out of her fancier dress and into her normal ninja dress. _I should go and see if Kakashi-sensei wanted us to train today,_ she thought. She quickly grabbed her weapon pouch and ran towards Kakashi's apartment. She still had the spare key but she didn't want to seem like she was intruding so she knocked.

"Come in," Kakashi's voice said through the door.

Sora tried the doorknob but it was locked. "Uh…"

"You do have a key, right?" Kakashi said.

_Oh, so he knows it's me,_ Sora thought rolling her eyes. She unlocked the door and stepped inside. She saw that Kakashi was dressed in his Jounin outfit and looked basically normal. "Uh, I just came by to drop off your key and to see if you wanted us to train today," she said.

"Oh?" Kakashi said looking at her. "Oh, yes. I forgot to tell you. Tsunade has called for all Jounins to come to a meeting later today."

"Oh."

"But I do want you to train," Kakashi continued. "I don't know how much you and Naruto have improved so I'm not sure what to tell you. You can either call the boys up and train together or you could train alone if you wanted to."

Sora nodded and placed the spare key to Kakashi's apartment on the table.

"And thank you for staying with me last night," Kakashi said nonchalantly.

"Uh, it was nothing," Sora said with a smile. "Don't do anything too demanding until you're completely better, ok Sensei?"

Kakashi sighed. "Of course," he said. "Don't worry about me."

Sora frowned. "Well with your stubbornness and brash behavior, it's impossible not to," she said before she could stop herself. _Oops, probably shouldn't have said that,_ she thought as she blushed.

Kakashi chuckled and walked up to her laying a hand on her shoulder. He wanted to pull her into an embrace right then but he controlled himself. "I'd better get going," he said calmly. "If nothing happens, I would like to see you all tomorrow for training."

Sora nodded.

Kakashi walked past her and out of his apartment knowing that Sora would lock the door when she left.

Sora sighed once she heard the door close. _Well, he'll be impressed when he finds out what Naruto can do, but me? I haven't improved at all…_ She left Kakashi's apartment and decided that she needed some time to think things through before she would start training.

She went to her favorite spot in the whole village, the garden. The fountain greeted her with placid splashing. A few birds were taking a bath, twittering cheerfully to one another. She sat down on a bench facing towards the fountain with a sigh. _It seems that with every thing I do here, I only find more and more weaknesses in myself,_ she thought. _I can't believe I used to be so confident before. _Her eyes subconsciously followed the flow of the water down the steps of the fountain. _On Tsunade-sama's mission I did the least and yet I'm recovering so slowly._ She looked at her arms. The healing seals were faint but still visible. She put her chin on her hands and rested her elbows on her knees. _Not even the stupid bruises on my neck have-_

"Sora-chan!"

Sora sat up and looked towards the source of the sound. "Oh, hey, Naruto-kun," she said. _I've got to stop being so depressed all the time,_ she told herself as she prepared to act as normally as possible.

"I couldn't find you during the initiation," Naruto said as he sat next to her. "I never knew there were so many people in this village."

Sora raised an eyebrow. "And how long have you been living here?" she asked with a smug smile.

"Hey," Naruto said pretending to be offended. "I've just been too busy with training all the time to notice." He flashed a cheesy smile.

Sora rolled her eyes. "I just saw Kakashi-sensei," she said changing the subject.

"Oh, did he want us to train or something today?" Naruto asked. "The perverted hermit is at some sort of meeting with the old lady."

"Old lady?"

"Old Lady Tsunade."

"Naruto!" Sora exclaimed. "Don't be rude! She's our Fifth Hokage now."

"So?" Naruto said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"What do you mean 'so'?" Sora asked exasperated.

"Did Kakashi want us to train though?" Naruto said ignoring her question.

Sora sighed. "He did," she said. "But he didn't say anything specific."

Naruto got up. "All right then," he said making his hands into fists. "Let's go!" He grabbed Sora's hand and pulled her up.

"Uh, wait, Naruto!" Sora said before he went sprinting off towards the field where they trained.

"Huh?"  
"What about Sasuke?"

Naruto immediately frowned. "Oh, uh, isn't he still in the hospital or something?" he said in a less lively tone.

Sora put a hand to her head. "You two…" she muttered.

"What?"

"Why don't you guys get along?"

"What? We get along," Naruto insisted.

Sora knew that neither of her teammates was going to admit anything so she dropped the subject. "Never mind," she said. "Let's go."

Naruto raised an eyebrow but then grabbed her hand again. The two took off running towards the outskirts of the village to start their day of training.

It was the second time since Sora first arrived in Konoha that it was just her and Naruto training together. They raced each other to get their laps done for a warm up. They ended up tying but Naruto insisted that he had won by a hair. Then they proceeded to do their push-ups, sit-ups, etc. and then they did target training. No matter how hard Naruto tried, he could never beat Sora at target training. They were both incredibly accurate but Sora had a better eye and her Taijutsu training put her at an advantage. Then finally, Sora challenged Naruto to a practice battle.

"What?" Naruto said in shock. "Are you sure?"

Sora raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Of course I am," she answered. "The question is, are you up to the challenge?"

Naruto smirked. "Fine," he said smugly. "Do you want me to use my Chakra or not?"

Sora frowned. "You're so gonna get it!" she yelled as she ran at Naruto.

"AH!" Thus their practice battle began.

Sora threw continuous punches and kicks at Naruto and he was able to dodge or block all of them until, "AHHH!" Naruto yelled as he went flying through the air. He had a nice new bruise on his side now.

Sora didn't waste any time in running after him.

Naruto flipped backwards by pushing himself up from the ground with his hands and landed on his feet. He put his hands together in a seal. _Wow, she's gotten so good,_ he thought. _She's forcing me to use my Chakra._ "Kage Buushin No Jutsu!" he yelled. Five Narutos appeared in puffs of smoke.

_Dammit,_ Sora thought slowing down. _ Without my Chakra, I can't sense which one is real._

"I'm not gonna go easy on you," Naruto said confidently. "Even if you are my teammate." All five Narutos smirked.

"Heh, heh," Sora slightly panted. "Finally you're using your Chakra." She ran right at the five Narutos without weapons. The five Narutos ran at her without weapons. Then the fight really began.

After hours of practice fighting and no one really winning or losing, both Naruto and Sora collapsed on the ground next to each other laughing. They each had numerous cuts and bruises from where they had managed to get a hit on each other but neither was seriously injured.

"Wow, Sora," Naruto panted as he fell backwards on the grass. "You've gotten loads better. Even without your Chakra, you can still fight pretty damn good."

"'Well,' Naruto," Sora corrected with a playful smile. "But thanks for the compliment. Of course both of us were holding back though since it was a practice battle."

"Yeah," Naruto agreed. "I would never go all out against you." He reached his hand up and grabbed hers.

Sora slightly blushed but let him hold her hand. She looked up at the darkening sky. "Me neither," she said quietly.

Naruto glanced at the girl next to him and smiled. He sat up and slid his arms around Sora's waist. "You wanna go out to eat?" he asked.

"Uh," Sora stammered at Naruto's actions. "Well, we should probably wash up first and then I was planning on seeing Sasuke."

Naruto wanted to object but he refrained. "Hey, I'll come too," he said instead.

"What? Seriously?" Sora asked surprised.

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?"

"This'll show you that I don't hate him."

"But-"

"Come on, let's go," Naruto interrupted and pulled her up. _I'm not going to let him be alone with her, _he thought.

_This probably won't turn out too well,_ Sora thought with a sigh as they made their way back to the village.

They each went to their apartments and quickly washed up then they were off to see Sasuke. Sora had brought along some dinner so that the three of them could eat together. They reached the hospital an hour before it closed for the night so they signed in and went up to Sasuke's room.

"You can smell all those flowers from out here," Naruto commented with a smirk as they walked down the hall towards his room.

Sora smiled. "I bet he's got enough to make his own garden."

The two finally reached the room and Sora knocked. "Sasuke?" she said through the door wanting to make sure that he knew they weren't some of his fanatic admirers.

The door opened for them revealing Sasuke right in front of them. He was shocked to see Naruto. _What the hell's he doing here?_ he automatically screamed in his mind.

"Hey, Sasuke," Naruto said with a friendly wave. "Long time no see."

Sasuke's expression of shock turned into one of annoyance and slight anger. He grunted without returning Naruto's greeting and left the door to go and sit on his bed again.

Sora sighed. _I knew this would happen,_ she thought. "Uh, how're you feeling, Sasuke?" she asked timidly as she stepped in the room and followed him to the bed.

"Fine," Sasuke answered curtly.

Naruto stepped in the room but stayed near the door.

Sora bit her lower lip nervously and walked over to the small table on the other side of the bed. "Have you eaten yet?" she asked.

Sasuke turned to face her putting Naruto out of his line of vision. "I wasn't hungry," he said.

"Oh, well I brought some food for all of us," she said getting it out. "Naruto and I haven't eaten yet."

Naruto came over to Sora. "Yeah, Kakashi-sensei told us to train but we figured you were still recovering," he said trying to subtly irk Sasuke.

Sasuke twitched slightly. _What? They spent the whole day training together?_ he thought.

Sora inconspicuously elbowed Naruto in the stomach.

"Hey-"  
"But anyway, I brought you something in case you're hungry now," she said trying to change the subject before Naruto could say anything. She knew that Sasuke's favorite food was tomatoes and rice balls so she had brought some with her.

Sasuke saw the food and got off the bed to join Naruto and Sora at the table. _I'll just talk to her about this later,_ he thought as he sat down.

Sora smiled with relief that Sasuke was going to eat with them. _Heh, maybe the rice balls did the trick,_ she thought.

The meal was…pleasant to some extent. Sora tried hard to keep the conversation from turning heated but at least Naruto and Sasuke were talking to each other, right? But she could tell that both boys were trying to get her attention away from the other as much as possible without making it obvious.

Sasuke didn't smile the entire time even though he did talk a bit. _Naruto's done something to her,_ he kept thinking throughout the whole dinner.

Naruto kept a wary eye on Sasuke the whole time as well. _There must be something going on with him and Sora,_ he thought. _Otherwise he wouldn't be so uptight with me around._

Sora could basically guess what each of her teammates was thinking but she kept quiet about it not wanting to bring it up.

After about an hour,Sora finally rose to leave. "We should probably go now, Naruto," she said glancing at the clock. "The hospital might already be closed."

"Yeah," Naruto said getting up and stretching.

Sasuke kept silent.

Sora gathered the trash and threw it away in the wastebasket. "Please rest Sasuke," she said once she had gotten everything.

"Yeah, take it easy," Naruto said. He opened the door and waited for Sora to exit.

Sora gave Sasuke one last worried look and then went past Naruto to the hall. Naruto closed the door.

Sasuke didn't move for a while but finally went over to the window and saw Naruto and Sora walking down the empty street together talking. He hardened his expression. _Why did you have to bring him along?_ he thought clenching his fist.

Naruto insisted on walking Sora up to her apartment. "You never know what might happen," he said pretending to be responsible. In reality he wanted to make sure that Sasuke hadn't sneaked out of the hospital to follow her.

"Come on, Naruto," Sora said with a small laugh. "You should get home soon, ok? And remember that Kakashi-sensei wants us all to see him tomorrow at the usual time at the bridge."

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto said waving his hand.

"Uh-huh," Sora said rolling her eyes thinking that Naruto would be late as always. She unlocked her door and started inside but felt herself get pulled back. "Naru-"

"Do I get a goodnight kiss?" he asked in a low voice bringing her back to him. Sora's apartment door swung shut again.

"Naruto," Sora said feeling uncomfortable. She tried to unclasp his hands around her waist but ended up having him turn her around to face him.

"Just one kiss," he whispered leaning closer.

_Just one kiss…_ Sora's mind flashed back to when Sasuke had said that exact same phrase to her earlier that day. She didn't have time to react when Naruto's lips came in contact with her own.

Naruto could hardly contain himself. What he really wanted was to be with Sora all night. He pushed her against the closed door continuing the kiss and his hands crept up her body to her head.

Sora tried to turn her head to the side to break the kiss but Naruto's hands held it in place. She grabbed his wrists and pushed back but he wouldn't budge. She knew what he wanted but it was something she knew they shouldn't do. Finally she managed to push his hands away and break the kiss. Both were panting heavily. "Naruto," Sora gasped as she looked to the side.

"Sora," Naruto murmured and leaned in to try and capture her lips again.

"No, please," Sora panted.

Since Naruto couldn't get to her lips, he caressed Sora's smooth skin on her upper neck where Sasuke had caressed just earlier that day.

"Naruto, we've got to stop this, please," Sora said trying to push his body away conscious of that little fact.

Finally Naruto listened and released her. "I-I'm sorry, Sora-chan," Naruto stuttered.

"Just," Sora said stopping him from speaking further. "Just go home now and get some rest."

Naruto nodded his head and turned to leave.

"Goodnight," Sora called after him as she unlocked her door again. Naruto waved in return without turning around as he walked down the hall. Sora sighed and went in.

Her apartment was dark but she didn't bother turning on the lights. She closed her door and locked it. Then she slumped to the ground, her eyes wetted with tears. "How could I be so stupid?" she said out loud to herself as she clenched her fists. "I should have never let Naruto come with me to…" She let a single tear fall down her cheek but she didn't wipe it away.

_You're hurting both of them._

"I know…" She got up and put the bag she had brought with her to carry the food in on the kitchen table.

_Turning them against each other._

"I never meant to-"

_Then why are you leading them on?_

Sora paused. _I am?_ She knew it to be true. "I-I'm sorry," she choked out. "But how can I tell them? If I say yes to one, they'll hate each other…if I say no to both, their lives would be destroyed and they'd still hate each other. I can see it in their eyes."

_Then are you the innocent one?_

"What?" Sora snapped back to reality. "Who am I talking to?" she asked herself. _Is it that…thing inside me?_ She began to tremble with fear. _It's back,_ she thought. _That seal couldn't hold it…and I…I don't have my Chakra to fight it._ She thought back on her battle in the forest during the mission to Tazuna's island. She had fought with something inside of her but she could only barely escape with her life and that was when she had had her Chakra. _What if it comes back? What if I have to fight it again? _She wanted to go to someone, anyone. But she was alone.

"No," she said out loud to give herself confidence. "No, I won't be scared by you!" She turned on the lights. Her eyes blinked rapidly to adjust to the sudden change. She narrowed her eyes. "I won't be threatened by you," she declared. "I won't let you take over my mind!" She clenched her fists and made her way to the bathroom to change and wash up for the night.

After she washed, she checked to make sure that the windows and door were locked then she got into her bed. It was the first time she had been able to sleep in her own bed for weeks. _I can't let this thing take over me,_ she thought once she had settled in. _If I give in, it'll only prove my weaknesses. I've got to be strong…_


	13. Part XIII: Running Away

Part XIII: Running Away

It was a nearly sleepless night for Sora. Every noise, every movement, every thought kept her too preoccupied to even think about sleep. She finally couldn't stand it anymore and got out of bed. The sun hadn't even risen yet but she washed up anyway. Her fear drove all the hunger out of her and she skipped breakfast. She grabbed her kunai pouch and quickly left her apartment.

Once she was out of the building she took a deep breath of the cool, dark air. It would be a few hours till sunrise but she needed to move. She needed to get her mind off of things. She began running. Slowly at first but then faster and faster as she neared the outskirts of the village. She went into the forest and jumped up into a tree. She jumped from branch to branch as quickly as the wind with her feet barely touching each branch. She didn't even have to think about where she was going. Her body moved on its own, She was too preoccupied to notice.

Her subconscious mind picked up on the small sound of moving water and she directed her course towards it. Soon a small waterfall appeared splashing into a little lake. Her body stopped moving and she stood perfectly still at the water's edge. She wasn't breathing hard. Her heart wasn't even beating any faster even though she had just run a few miles.

_Water…_ She slammed her hands in a jutsu seal and pressed them together as tightly as she could. Her eyes closed, her brow furrowed. _Concentrate…concentrate!_ Then her eyes shot open and she sprinted out onto the water. She had expected to completely sink but to her amazement, she was able to stay on top for a split second. But then she was completely submerged under the water.

It was freezing cold and Sora felt as if a thousand needles were slicing her skin from every direction. She forced her numb legs and arms to move and finally she broke the surface for air. She swam over to the water's edge and crawled up on land gasping for air and shivering violently. Her skin was already a ghastly pale. "N-no," she forced herself to speak through her shaking. "Again." She stood up but could hardly keep still she was shaking so much. She put her hands together in the same seal again and closed her eyes. After a second or two more, her eyes once again shot open and she ran out onto the water.

Hours passed and the sun began to rise casting pretty shades of red and orange across the water. Birds began singing and the morning flowers opened up revealing their colors hidden from the night before. A slight mist was in the air above the lake making it seem almost enchanted. But Sora didn't notice any of these things. Before, she would always stop to see the sun rise or at least smile at the sight of the flowers or the songs of the birds, but now she could only concentrate on one thing.

"Dammit…" she cursed through gritted teeth to keep from chattering. She once again crawled up on the shore of the lake from the sparkling water. Her entire body was shaking uncontrollably and her skin was a deathly pale. Her mind screamed out for her to stop and get back to her apartment but her will kept her still. "No," she whispered to herself. _If Naruto can stand to have a demon inside of him, I can stand to have one inside of me._ She stood back up with clenched fists at her sides.

It was beginning to warm up from the rays of the sun but the effects of the freezing water still lingered in Sora's body. She shook her head and tried to take a step forward but stumbled. Her knees began shaking and her legs felt extremely unstable. She gasped as she fell to the ground but she willed herself to land on her knee. "No," she whispered again unable to properly speak. _I can't give in now, not when I'm so close to getting my Chakra back. I can't lose this battle!_ But no matter how hard she pushed herself, her limbs began to freeze up and go numb. She couldn't feel anything with her hands anymore. Her heartbeat became labored and slow. She was short of breath but couldn't inhale because she was shaking so much.

Her body couldn't take the torture anymore. She began to fall forward unable to stop herself. It seemed like eternity to her as she fell. She felt the icy darkness begin to take over her vision, her mind.

Two arms surrounded her shivering frame keeping her from crashing into the ground. A warmth spread through her body, small yet just enough to keep her conscious for a bit longer. _What?_ The heat pierced into her frozen skin and coursed through her veins like a poison. But a good poison.

"Sora."

She couldn't respond yet but she managed to shakily turn her head to see who had found her.

"What're you doing?"

Her pale red eyes met dark black ones. "S-sa…"

"Sh," Sasuke commanded and turned her around so that he could embrace her from the front. He brought her closer to his body and put her head against his chest. The coldness was almost unbearable, but the more he felt of its harsh treatment, the tighter he held onto his red-haired teammate. _I can't believe she would do this to herself,_ he thought as he stroked her icy, wet hair. "We're going back," he said softly in her ear. He didn't wait for a reply and leapt off towards the village to his home.

Soon the two were inside Sasuke's enormous house and Sora was placed in the great room near the fire place. Sasuke started a fire and the room became warm in no time. It was warm outside now as well but Sora needed more than just the natural heat of the day.

The shaking eventually stopped and her skin became less pale. Sora finally opened her eyes again and saw that she was in Sasuke's house and wearing Sasuke's clothes. "Wha?" she asked groggily and tried to move her hand up to her eyes.

"Sora," she heard Sasuke say from somewhere in the room but she couldn't see him or turn her head just yet. She felt him grab her hand that had been twitching because she had wanted to move it. Then she saw his face as he leaned over her. "My god," he whispered and he lowered his head to kiss her blue lips. "What the hell were you doing back there?"

If Sora hadn't been so cold her cheeks would have flared up. "I…I…"

Sasuke slipped his arms around her and pulled her up into an embrace. He inhaled deeply trying to get some of her natural scent in his nostrils but all he could smell was dampness and coldness. He exhaled audibly and tightened his hold on her.

"S-sauske," Sora finally managed to get out. She moved a shaky hand to his waist and pushed back slightly. The two broke apart but Sasuke still held her. "H-how did y-you find me?"

Sasuke rubbed his hands up and down Sora's still freezing arms. "I followed you," he said simply.

_He…followed…me…_ Sora thought remembering the time so long ago when he had "followed" her to the lake before to get the truth out of her. She looked down.

"I answered your question so answer mine," Sasuke said and lifted her head back up so that he could see her eyes. "What were you doing?"

Sora slightly cringed. "I was….I j-just wanted…" she stuttered still shaking from the cold. She took a deep breath. "I was just trying to get my Chakra back," she barely whispered.

"Cha-?" _Oh right, I almost forgot her Chakra was sealed,_ he thought cutting himself off before he said anything stupid. "But why like that? You could've killed yourself," he said instead.

Sora turned her head away. "Y-you shouldn't be talking," she said slightly annoyed. "You always r-risk your life doing things y-you want to do. W-why can't I risk mine?" Immediately after she said it she regretted it. "S-sorry," she said in a much subdued voice. "I didn't mean-"

"No, you're right," Sasuke said silencing her. "I do risk my life a lot." He brought her back closer. "But it's because of you. I'd do anything for you. You're too important to me. If I lost you…I wouldn't be able to live with myself anymore." He kissed her hair softly. He really wanted Sora to say something like that to him but he didn't push it. Instead he moved her hair behind her ear and gently kissed the part of her neck right under her ear. He moved up a little to her jaw line and made a trail of kisses leading ever closer to her slightly parted lips.

Sora didn't resist this time. His words seemed to affect something inside of her. She allowed Sasuke to take over her lips and slip his tongue inside of her mouth.

The lack of resistance made Sasuke's body heat up and when he felt Sora's lips working against his own returning his kisses, he almost lost all control. He pushed her back down on the mattress he had set up in front of the fireplace for her and moved himself on top completely covering her. Small growls and moans came from the back of his throat at every movement he felt her make against his hungry lips.

Sora's arms moved on their own and slid around his neck deepening their kiss. She ran her fingers through his jet black hair with one hand and traced his spine with the other. She could feel something wasn't quite right in her mind but she didn't care at the moment.

Then Sasuke began pulling down on the shirt she was wearing to reveal more of her neck and collar. With every kiss he poured his fire into her body, slowly warming her up from the harsh coldness.

Then Sora's eyes shot open as she snapped back to her senses. She felt his lips on her chin and gasped hoping that he hadn't seen the bruises on her neck. She quickly lifted his head back up to hers with her hands and held it there.

"Sora?"

"I…we should stop before it gets any further," Sora said quietly looking anywhere but his eyes.

Sasuke slightly winced but said nothing. He gently kissed her forehead and then moved so that he was lying next to her. He circled his arms around her waist and held her close from behind. "Sleep," he said softly.

"Uh, is there enough time?" Sora asked.

Sasuke nuzzled the back of her head. "There's still an hour."

_An hour…_ Sora was extremely tired. She hadn't gotten any sleep the night before and then she almost killed herself from being stubborn and stupid. Her body relaxed into Sasuke's and she took a deep breath and sighed. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. She took a hold of one of Sasuke's hands and pulled it up to her face. She leaned her cheek into his warm palm.

Shivers ran up and down Sasuke's spine and it wasn't from the cold. "Don't be, just sleep," he whispered back and moved his legs to intertwine with hers.

Within that hour, Sora fell completely asleep in Sasuke's arms. Sasuke on the other hand stayed awake stroking her hair and gently caressing her neck and shoulders every now and then. It went by too quickly for him. He wanted to stay like that forever, but he finally forced himself to wake Sora up. "Sora," he said softly in her ear.

"Mm?" came the reply.

"We should go," he said and sat up.

"Oh…right." Without turning around Sora pushed herself up to a sitting position. She pulled her hair over the front part of her neck to hide the faint but still visible bruises. Well, she guessed that they were still visible. She hoped that before, the coldness of the water had paled her skin so much that the bruises would have been temporarily hidden. From the way Sasuke was acting, she thought that was what had happened. "I need to, uh, change," she said softly.

Sasuke got up from the mattress and got her newly dried clothes she had been wearing earlier. "Here." He handed them to her. "I'll get us some breakfast." With that he left the room.

Sora stood up hugging her dress to her chest and stared into the fire. _How could I be so stupid?_ she thought as she began to undress. _Even if I could use my Chakra that one day…dammit. It must have been a fluke. I should have known that the seal couldn't be so easily broken. What was I thinking? I nearly killed myself! If Sasuke hadn't come I would be dead by now._

She quickly slipped into her dress and spotted a mirror on the wall. Her hair was a mess and her skin was still slightly paler than usual. She leaned forward to inspect her neck and saw that the bruises were indeed still visible but barely. _When will these stupid things go away?_ She buttoned up her collar and tried to smooth her hair down.

Then Sasuke came back in the room with some fruit and bread. "Here," he said and motioned towards the table set in the middle of the room. They sat down and ate in silence, but neither was uncomfortable with that fact. Sora was a little self conscious and refused to look straight at Sasuke while Sasuke was still worried if she was really well enough to train today. Once they were finished, Sasuke gathered the trash and threw it away.

"Are you sure you can train today?" he asked suddenly as they were preparing to leave.

Sora looked at him in surprise. "Of course I am," she answered. "I feel much better now, thanks to you."

Sasuke opened the front door to his house and the two Genins stepped out into the sunlight. "Just promise me you won't try something like that again," he said grabbing her hand.

"I…I won't," she said looking down. "I was just being stupid."

Sasuke squeezed her hand gently and they started for the bridge.

Just as they suspected, no one was there yet so they waited. They stood in silence for a while but then Sora spoke. "Uh, Sasuke?"

"Hm?"

"When did you leave the hospital?" she asked.

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders. "As soon as I could."

Sora sighed. "I guess none of us like hospitals very much," she said looking out over the water.

Sasuke glanced over at the girl next to him. He could tell that she was trying to lighten the mood and get both of them to stop thinking about the morning's earlier incident. There were still so many questions he wanted answered but he held his tongue.

"Sora-chan!" Naruto shouted as he ran onto the bridge.

Sora turned around to wave a greeting to her blonde friend. "Naruto-kun!"

Sasuke did his usual routine of folding his arms across his chest and looking annoyed.

"It's been like forever since we've all been able to come here," Naruto said with a childish smirk. "Feels like old times, huh?"

Sora nodded. "And with you being late and Kakashi-sensei even later, it's definitely like old times."

"Hey! I wasn't too late this time!" Naruto insisted.

"And neither was I."

The three Genins looked up in surprise to see their white-haired sensei on top of the bridge entrance post.

"Yo," he said with his usual greeting and jumped down.

"Sensei!" Naruto said happily. "It's been a while."

"Yes, it has, Naruto," Kakashi said patting him on the head. "But I'm afraid this little reunion can't last very long."

"Huh? Did something come up?" Sora asked.

Kakashi nodded. "Because of Orochimaru's attack we lost a lot of men therefore greatly weakening our village. But in order to keep our position as a strong nation, we have to take on any mission that comes to us so this means that I'll have to be away pretty often."

"What? Then who's gonna train us?" Naruto asked.

"Well," Kakashi smiled, "the Chuunin exams were cancelled but it seems as though you guys have proven your-"

"Does that mean we're Chuunins?" Naruto interrupted excitedly.

"Uh, no," Kakashi said with a slightly raised eyebrow. "It means that I believe that our team can be split up to go on any mission our new Hokage gives us. Don't be surprised if you get put on a mission with other Genins, Chuunins, or maybe even Jounins for that matter."

"MISSIONS WITH JOUNINS?" Naruto nearly shouted. "This is going to be soooo cool!"

"But it could be very dangerous, Naruto," Sora said. "We might have to do other missions like the one to the Water Country without Kakashi-sensei."

"But we've proven ourselves, right? We can take on anything," Naruto said confidently.

Sasuke closed his eyes and bit his tongue to keep from hitting Naruto upside the head.

"Uh-huh," Kakashi said sarcastically. "Well, I need to go meet with the Hokage now so you guys can train until I return." With that he disappeared.

"We've proven ourselves!" Naruto repeated. "All right! Now I'm gonna have to train extra hard to be able to go on all the A ranked missions!"

_So no one got promoted to the Chuunin level?_ Sasuke thought. He furrowed his brow in frustration. _After going through all that they just decided to cancel and keep everyone Genins?_

"Let's get going!" Naruto said and began racing off the bridge towards the field where they trained.

"Sasuke?" Sora asked seeing his expression.

Sasuke's eyes opened but he didn't look at her.

"I-is everything all right?"

Sasuke turned his head. "It's fine," he said curtly.

Sora was about to say something but she knew he needed some time alone. Instead she only said, "You know where to find us." With that, she leaped out of sight leaving Sasuke on the bridge.

Sasuke didn't move for a while. _How am I ever going to get stronger if they keep me down like this? Haven't I proven myself yet? Can't they see my power?_ He narrowed his eyes. _Or am I just not good enough yet? _He turned and started walking off the bridge with his hands in his pockets. _Training here won't help me get to the level I need to be…to kill my brother…to protect the one I love…_ He continued walking slowly towards the training field lost in his thoughts.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted when he saw Sora approaching. "What took ya?"

Sora landed in front of Naruto. "Sorry," she said slightly panting. Apparently her body had not completely recovered yet.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Hey, are you ok?" he asked putting his hands on her arms.

"I-I'm fine," Sora stuttered and pulled back slightly. Naruto had a surprised expression on his face but she ignored it. "We should start, right?" She turned to start her warm-ups but Naruto stopped her.

"What's going on?" he asked keeping a firm grip on her wrist.

"Nothing," Sora said hastily.

"Nothing?" Naruto pulled Sora closer to him. "It doesn't seem like nothing."

"Really, it's-"

"Just tell me, Sora-chan," Naruto said making her face him. "I'm worried about you." _Did Sasuke come to her last night?_

Sora tried to think of a way to escape but couldn't think of anything. She remembered the time in the garden when she had cried in Naruto's arms after not telling him about her seal. _I should tell him about what I did…but not about Sasuke._ "I was just being stupid this morning," she said in a small voice.

"What happened?"

"I couldn't sleep last night," she said. "I heard a voice in my head and I was scared. Every movement, every noise kept me awake all night. I couldn't forget that voice."

"Voice?"

Sora nodded. "It said that-that I was hurting…you and everyone else. That I was the cause of everyone's pain."

"What?" Naruto pulled her into a sudden embrace. "No, that's not true. You're one of the only people in this world that make me happy. That make me feel I'm wanted." He leaned his head against hers.

Sora couldn't help but sob lightly in his embrace. "But I'm such a wench," she cried.

Naruto pulled back slightly to look at her. He was shocked that she would think of herself that way. "How can you say that?" he said his eyes widening. He cupped her face and forced her to look in his eyes. "I can't believe you just said that!"

"You don't understand," Sora said and pulled back. She broke free from Naruto's grasp and turned to face away from him to continue her unwanted sobbing.

Naruto could only stare at his teammate in disbelief. "Sora-"

"No, don't," Sora said shutting her eyes tightly. "I'm not who you think I am."

_I can't believe this,_ Naruto thought. _How can she see herself like that when everyone else around her sees something so perfect…so beautiful? _He slowly approached her until he was right behind her shaking body. "Sora," he said and quickly wrapped his arms around her waist. He leaned his forehead against her head.

"No, I can't-" She tried to get free but Naruto held on firmly.

"You're not a wench, Sora!" Naruto said through gritted teeth. "You-you're strong, you're beautiful, you're perfect in every way and…and I love you!" He crossed an arm across her chest and grabbed her shoulder pulling her closer to him. He moved his head so that he could nuzzle her cheek.

Sora gasped partially from Naruto, partially from crying. "I…I…" she whispered. _I can't keep deceiving you…_ She continued to struggle to get away.

Naruto tightened his hold on her. "Whoever this voice is inside of you, I won't lose you to him!" He began kissing her upper neck from behind. His emotions ran wild inside of him. Love, passion, anger all mixed into one moment. He kissed her like he might lose her at any second. He slightly unbuttoned her collar so that he could kiss her lower neck. He wanted to make sure that Sora felt that she was loved, by him.

"Naru-"

"NARUTO!" a voice shouted.

Naruto quickly looked up to see who had shouted his name but his face came in contact with a fist and he went flying backwards. He crashed into the ground and skidded to a halt a few feet away.

"No, Sasuke! Stop!" he heard Sora's distant voice shout.

_Sasuke?_ He started to get up but then someone grabbed him from the collar of his shirt. He felt himself be lifted into the air.

"You bastard!" Sasuke snarled. He punched Naruto hard in the face sending him crashing back into a nearby tree trunk.

When Naruto's body hit, he coughed up some blood from the impact. The birds scattered from high above, and leaves and buds fell to the earth. His vision was slightly hazy but he could just make out his two teammates some feet away.

Sora grabbed on to Sasuke's arm. "Sasuke, don't!" she pleaded desperately trying to pull him back.

"I'll kill him!" Sasuke snarled his eyes turning red with the Sharingan.

"No!" Sora cried out and pulled him back far enough so that she could turn him around to keep him from seeing Naruto. "Stop it! You can't do this!"

Sasuke turned his piercing gaze upon Sora. His eyes narrowed in seething anger and his muscles twitched from his intense concentration.

"Sasuke?" Sora said becoming scared at his expression.

Without warning, Sasuke roughly pulled back the slightly opened collar of Sora's dress completely exposing her neck as well as the bruises.

Sora gasped in realization. _Oh, no. _Her hand flew to her neck but Sasuke stopped her by grabbing her wrist.

"How could that bastard touch you like this?" he barely whispered. He let go of Sora and turned back around to face Naruto who was now standing but blood was coming out of his mouth. "You'll regret ever laying hands on her!" he screamed in fury. He ran at Naruto faster than Sora could stop him.

"Bring it," Naruto said dangerously and wiped the blood away from his mouth. He ran towards Sasuke whipping out a kunai.

"NO!" Sora screamed and began running towards the two boys.

But Sasuke and Naruto had already begun. The sound of metal on metal rang through the air scaring off any birds left in the trees nearby. Clash after clash pierced the once peaceful training field as the two Genins fought with all they had.

The two were using their Chakra to move so quickly that Sora could hardly see them let alone catch up to them. _How can I stop them?_ she thought desperately. _This is all my fault!_ She quickly looked around to see where they had gone. Then she heard the awful ring of clashing metals deep in the forest. _They're already so far away?_ She quickly sprinted towards the sound.

Sasuke made the seals for his Phoenix Fire technique and multiple fire balls came flying from his mouth towards Naruto.

Naruto dodged them one by one but just barely. His clothes were singed from the close calls. _Dammit, _he thought as he landed but then jumped up in a tree to get away from the last fire ball. The forest was burning from the attack. _I gotta get out of this forest before he burns it all down!_ He changed the direction of his course and began blindly running hopefully out of the forest.

Sasuke was hot on his trail. _I won't lose to him!_ he thought viciously. _Sora is mine!_

Sora saw the fire off in the distance and skidded to a halt. All around her she saw burning leaves and falling branches. _Sasuke's out of control,_ she thought fearfully. _This is so bad._ She looked around but couldn't see any sign of the two boys but she knew that she had to somehow put out the fire first. "Dammit," she said as tears streaked down her face. She took off for the village to find some help.

As she neared the outskirts, she saw a familiar white haired Jounin just about to leave the village through the gates. "KAKASHI-SENSEI!" she screamed at the top of her lungs as she ran.

"Huh?" Kakashi said and stopped in his tracks. He looked around and saw his student racing towards him. "Sora?"

Sora stopped in front of him gasping for air. "There's a fire" gasp "in the forest!"

"What?" Kakashi said and looked towards the forest. He saw a small column of smoke rising. He looked back down at Sora and grabbed her hand. "Let's go."

He took off so quickly that Sora had the wind knocked out of her. _He's so fast,_ she thought as they zipped through the air. Within seconds, they were already at the place of the fire.

Kakashi let go of her hand and made a seal. He began muttering something that Sora couldn't understand but then she felt the earth begin to rumble. She heard the sound of an enormous amount of rushing water coming from deeper in the forest. Then she saw it. A huge wave of water came out of nowhere and engulfed the burning trees. She thought that they would drown but then she saw Kakashi holding out his hands in front of him controlling the water so that it would go around them.

Sora couldn't help but gawk at the amazing Chakra ability that she was seeing in front of her. Controlling the elements of nature that well was no easy thing to do and demanded a lot of Chakra control as well as body control.

Soon the fire was put out and the water receded back to where it came from. The trunks and branches of the trees were scorched black from the fire and most of the leaves in that area were completely gone, but the forest was saved.

Kakashi turned to Sora. "What happened?"

Sora snapped back to attention. "I-uh-I mean, Sasuke and Naruto began fighting and, and-"

"Where are they?" Kakashi interrupted with a look of concern on his face.

"I'm not sure," Sora said meekly. "I think they might have run towards the village."

Kakashi closed his eyes for a moment thinking.

Sora held her breath afraid to break the silence.

"Let's go," he said suddenly and grabbed her hand.

Once again Sora felt an immense pressure of air on her as the two zipped through the air at an amazing speed. While running, Kakashi focused his senses and listened for any sign of fighting between his two other students. Soon he found them and pinpointed their location. He directed his course towards the noise and soon the two found themselves approaching the roof of the hospital.

When they stopped in front of the hospital, Sora was a bit shocked. _What? Why would they come here?_ she thought.

"They're on the roof," Kakashi said quickly. "Stay here." He disappeared from sight.

"What?" Sora found herself alone in front of the hospital building. Then she heard the sound of electric pulses from the roof of the building. _Oh no, that's the Chidori!_ She ignored Kakashi's order and ran into the hospital sprinting for the stairs but by the time she got to the top, it was all over.

Sasuke and Naruto were each in front of a water storage container with a hand embedded in the metal. Kakashi was standing a few feet away facing them.

Sora stared while panting from climbing all those stairs. _Did they try to…?_ she thought. She saw Sasuke pull his hand out of the metal and a rush of water came spewing out of the newly made hole. Naruto pulled his hand out but there was only a small hole and the water trickled out slowly, but Sora recognized the swirl pattern on the metal surface. _They each used their most powerful technique on each other,_ she thought. _How could they…_

_No, it's you._

Sora sunk to her knees. Her breathing became more labored and it wasn't from running. Her wide, red eyes took in the scene, the realization of what she had done.

"Sasuke," Kakashi said breaking the silence. "I taught you the Chidori only for your protection. Not for using so carelessly on a teammate."

Sasuke turned his head slightly to glare at his sensei but then he caught sight of Sora on her knees staring straight in front of her with wide, fearful eyes. He felt his heart wrench in guilt and anger. He gritted his teeth and jumped the fence surrounding the roof of the hospital building not wanting to hear more of Kakashi's lecture and not wanting to see Sora in any more pain.

_It's all Naruto's fault,_ he thought before he took off. He looked back up towards the water towers and saw that the entire back of Naruto's tower was completely blown off. _WHAT? I can't believe this! How could he have gotten so much stronger? _He ran away as quickly as he could. He needed to be alone. _No, that can't be right! He can't be stronger than me! I…I deserve her more than he ever will! I must defeat him!_

Back on the hospital roof, a silence enveloped the three or actually the four. Jiraiya was hidden behind one of the other water towers on the roof unseen by Naruto or Sora but Kakashi was not so blind. He bent his head and put his hands in his pockets and walked towards the tower he knew Jiraiya was behind. "You taught Naruto the Rasengan," he said in a quiet voice.

Jiraiya nodded. "But you taught Sasuke the Chidori," he responded just as quietly.

"Yes, but only as a protection."

"The same goes for Naruto." Jiraiya came out from behind the tower. "I'm afraid that teaching these techniques to these two might have cause more harm than aid."

Kakashi nodded. "I'll go talk to Sasuke." With that he leaped off after his student.

Jiraiya turned to face Naruto who had now stood up and come down from the water tower to the roof. Sora was still on her knees but her eyes were closed. _Sarutobi-sensei was right,_ Jiraiya thought as he looked at the red-haired girl. _She is dangerous. Even without her Chakra. _He hated thinking like that because it didn't seem like Sora was trying to make the two boys fight over her, but she was the cause. He approached Naruto.

Naruto shuddered but kept silent.

"The Rasengan is not a technique to be used against a friend," Jiraiya said keeping his voice steady.

Naruto bit his bottom lip and said nothing.

"He _is _a friend," Jiraiya stated simply. "I know you see him as a rival, but he is your friend and friendship is not something to be overlooked so casually."

Naruto clenched his fists and turned to face Jiraiya. "Overlooked so casually?" he repeated through gritted teeth. "He attacked me first!"

"But you returned the attacks," Jiraiya countered.

"I had to defend myself somehow!" Naruto said struggling to keep his voice down. "What else was I supposed to do? Let him kill me?"

"But why did you attack with the Rasengan if you were only defending? You could have killed _him_. Is that what you want?"  
Naruto was seething with anger but at Jiraiya's question, he couldn't answer. He glanced over at Sora but quickly returned his gaze back to Jiraiya.

"Hm," Jiraiya said and turned away from Naruto. "Examine yourself very closely, Naruto. Look at what you truly want." Then the frog tamer disappeared.

_What I truly want…_ Naruto thought and closed his eyes. _I want to be recognized…by everyone. Sasuke never took me seriously before but in that fight, he was fighting with everything he had and I was too. It was for her. It was all for her._ He looked back over at Sora.

_It would've been better if I had never come here,_ Sora thought bitterly and stood up using the door frame for a support. _It would've been better if I had just killed myself before any of this happened. I just cause everyone more pain!_ She reached in her kunai pouch and took out a blade.

Naruto saw what she was doing and rushed to her side grabbing her hand before she could plunge the blade into her heart. "Sora!" he nearly shouted. "What the hell are you doing? Snap out of it!"

"No, you don't understand!" Sora sobbed and struggled to get free. But her sobbing weakened her and Naruto soon pinned her wrist back against the wall and grasped her other hand in his. "Please let me go," she whispered looking down tears dripping off her face.

"I-I can't believe…you can't do this!" Naruto said and kept his hold on her. He moved the hand that was pinning her wrist to the wall to her hand and forced her to drop the kunai. The blade fell to the ground beside them. The dull clink seemed to echo throughout the air.

A silence followed. Sora let her knees collapse and she sunk to the ground with her back against the wall. Naruto came down with her still holding onto her hands. Sora kept her eyes down and let her hair cover her tear-stained face.

_Why, Father? Why Konoha? Is it to torture me and the people I've grown to care for? _

_His power is so close. _

_I just want to run away…run away and die alone where I can't hurt anyone anymore._

_I can taste it…maddening my senses. I must have it!_

Sora looked up, her eyes a silver color.

"Sora?" Naruto asked with a concerned expression on his face. Sora moved her hands faster than Naruto could sense and he was thrown backwards. He hit the ground a few feet away. "What?"

Sora picked up the fallen kunai again and turned to face Naruto. She took a step forward. Her face was void of any emotion and her eyes were still that awful blank silver color.

"Sora," Naruto said and stood up as well. "What're you doing?"

Sora pulled the knife back as if she was going to throw it at Naruto.

_What is she doing? This can't be her!_ "Sora!" Naruto shouted.

"I can't wait any longer!" the shadow screamed as she threw the girl back.

Sora hit an invisible wall forcing blood out of her mouth. _I can't believe she's this strong!_ she thought. "I can't let you!" She rushed towards her shadow replica. _Even without my Chakra, I must fight!_

"You pathetic piece of shit!" the shadow hissed. "I don't have time to waste on you!" A black flame appeared in her hand.

Sora came at the shadow with nothing but her fists. "AHH!" she shouted as she pulled back her arm.

The shadow thrust the flame forward but hit nothing. _ARGH! She's wasting my time!_

Sora had moved around behind the shadow and aimed a kick at her back. She thought she had her but then a barrier of energy seemed to pop up out of nowhere. _What?_ Her leg came crashing into the barrier sending a bolt of energy through her body. "AHHH!" she screamed out in pain.

"Stay out of my way!" the shadow shouted and grabbed Sora around the neck.

Sora couldn't move. She was paralyzed from the shock and she was losing air fast.

Naruto saw Sora's arm twitch slightly but she didn't let go of the dagger. _What's going on?_ he thought as he took the opportunity to get out his own dagger just in case. He saw Sora's eyes flash red for just a second but then it was back to the silver. "Sora? Come on, snap out of it!" he called to her trying to get through.

"Nar-u-to…" Sora gasped when she heard his voice.

"You were a good puppet I suppose, that is until you became so insistent upon existing!" her replica spat in her face.

Sora winced but was still unable to move or speak properly.

"Heh, I don't even know why you try so hard to find yourself! You're nothing more than my creation. I made you to hold my spirit for a time so I could regain my power. Who knew you could be such a nuisance!" The shadow threw her harshly to the side sending Sora crashing into another invisible wall.

If Sora could have, she would have screamed from the pain. She gasped for air but with every breath she could feel broken bones puncture her lungs. She felt as if her neck was going to explode if she tried to breathe too quickly. Her back felt as if it was broken and she still couldn't move her arms or legs. _There's so much blood…_

Naruto took a cautious step forward. Sora hadn't moved from her position but her eyes followed his every move. _What's with her eyes?_ he thought. _This can't be Sora._ He took another step. "Sora," he called again. "Please…come back."

Sora heard Naruto's voice but she couldn't respond. _Am I just…a puppet?_ she thought. _What would it matter if I came back or not? _She knew that she should have the responsibility of trying to stop this monster inside of her from getting out but she was almost at the point of not caring anymore.

"But I suppose I can't kill you yet, lucky bitch," the shadow said carelessly and walked towards Sora. "Good thing you tried to stop me otherwise I might've done something I would regret later." She stopped in front of her.

_She can't kill me yet?_

Sora's replica bent down and grabbed her by the arm pulling her up to a kneeling position. The shadow knew it would cause Sora inexplicable pain but not enough to knock her unconscious. "You know I need you and the fox boy to be alive now, right?" she said. "I guess I just got a little carried away, being so close to him when I'm so much more powerful." She licked her lips and a black fire seemed to come out of her mouth. "Be a good girl while I'm gone and don't even think about suicide. It won't work." She released her grip on Sora's arm letting her slump back to the ground. Then with a cruel laugh, she disappeared into the swirling darkness.

Naruto saw his teammate gasp for air suddenly and her eyes flashed back to normal. Sora was still standing but she was breathing heavily although she hadn't moved at all. She still grasped the dagger making Naruto a little uneasy but since her eyes were back to normal, he gathered his courage and walked towards her.

Sora wasn't looking at Naruto. She didn't even notice that he had begun to move. Her eyes locked on to some imaginary distant object that she couldn't look away from. Her chest rose and fell heavily with every breath. She was sweating, panting but from what? Her body hadn't undergone any physical movement. _I'm so afraid,_ she said to herself. _My body isn't even listening to me anymore. I…I can't control it._

Once Naruto was close enough, he grabbed onto her wrists and pulled her arms behind her so that he was sure that she couldn't attack him with the weapon in her hand. "Sora-"

Only then did Sora notice that Naruto was there. Her focus snapped back to her surroundings and she saw that Naruto had her hands behind her back. She dropped the blade. "I-I'm sorry, Naruto-kun," she whispered and lowered her head.

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief at the sound of her voice. He loosened his grip on her. "Sora, what happened to you? You look like…like you were possessed or something."

Sora shook her head. _No, it was real…_ "It was nothing," she lied. "I'm just really…" She took a deep breath and sighed. "I'm just really tired that's all." She pulled away from Naruto easily and turned her back to him.

Naruto was shocked and he knew that she was lying. "Sora, tell me what's going on," he pleaded. "Please, I care about you."

"Really, it's nothing. I just need some time alone now," Sora said without turning around. She started for the door leading down the stairs to the hospital. "Don't worry about me."

As Sora left the rooftop, Naruto stood stunned in his place. He wanted to run after her and get the truth but for some reason he couldn't move. His mind raced through all that had just happened. _Sasuke…_ He became angry at the thought of him and clenched his fists. He knew that he didn't really know what was going on but to him, it all seemed to be Sasuke's fault. _If he hadn't attacked me then this would've never happened!_ he thought viciously.

But then Jiraiya's voice came floating back to him. _Examine yourself very closely, Naruto. Look at what you truly want._

_What I want?_ Naruto thought. _What I want is…is… _He knew he wanted Sora. He loved her, there was no denying that. But he also knew that he wanted something else. To be accepted by people for who he was. He wanted to protect the village, the place he grew up in. He wanted to become the Hokage.

The more he thought, the more his anger subsided in him against Sasuke. _Sasuke's my rival…but he's my friend. He's a Konoha ninja just like me so I have to accept him if I want to be accepted by Konoha. Yeah, if I don't accept people then how can I expect people to accept me?_ He put his hands in his pockets and walked towards the door. _I should apologize to Sasuke or something…_

Sora walked stiffly down the many flights of stairs and finally made it to the ground floor. She went out into the streets and made her way silently towards her apartment building. She didn't see anyone. She didn't want to see anyone. Once in her apartment, she locked the door and closed the curtains on the windows. None of the lights were on. She stood in darkness.

_It's time for me to leave,_ she thought. _I can't fulfill my promise, Father. It's too much for me. I-I can't take this torture._ She closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip. What she really wanted was to stop hurting everyone around her. She needed solitude away from others so that they could live on happily without her. There was only one thing left in her mind that she could do. Return to her village.

In the darkness of her room, she began to gather the necessities for the trip there: food, water, clothing. She wasn't planning on coming back so she decided to take the rest of her belongings to the outskirts of the village at night and get rid of them somehow. Burning would cause too much unwanted attention and burying them would take too long without her Chakra. Her best option was to find a deep lake and sink them all to the bottom.

By the time she was almost done preparing for her journey, the sun had gone down and it was approaching midnight. She couldn't decide whether or not she should keep all of her pictures of her friends from past villages and her present one. But after some consideration, she decided against it. She crammed the pictures into her bundle trying not to look at any of them but of course the picture of her team fell to the ground. She tried to pick it up without looking at it but failed. The familiar faces smiled or scowled up at her causing her to feel a pang of guilt and regret. _But I've decided already,_ she thought closing her eyes and fist. The photograph crumpled in her grasp. _It's time to leave._

Finally, all of her belongings she wasn't going to take with her were in a bundle on the kitchen table and the things she was going to take with her all fit into a small pack she carried on her back. She wore her ninja suit of all black. Then she used some black cloth and wrapped her face so that just her eyes showed. Without looking at her eyes, no one could recognize her. In fact maybe no one could tell if she was a male or female, but she wanted it that way.

She quickly grabbed her possessions and silently unlocked her door. All was still in the hallway. She swept down the hallway as swiftly as a shadow and was soon out on the empty streets. The moon wasn't very big that night but it was high in the sky so she kept in the shadows and as low as possible to the ground. Sora saw a few people still walking around near a bar and avoided going too close. She passed without being noticed.

She didn't see another soul all the way to the outskirts of the village. The forest came into view and Sora quickly took cover amongst the trees. She ran half knowing where she was going and half unconscious of what she was doing. Finally a lake appeared and she stopped at the water's edge. She took some wire and tied a few rocks to her bundle to make sure that it would sink and then she threw it as hard as she could out on the lake. The bundle sailed through the air and landed with a distant splash near the center of the lake sending a ripple out to all directions. Sora sighed shortly and then took off without noticing the reflection of the full moon wavering on the lake's surface.

Soon the gate became visible and she slowed her pace to a walk without knowing why. Maybe it was her mind's hesitance at the thought of never coming back. Maybe it was her sentimental feelings of the village she had grown to love. Maybe…

Sora shook her head slightly and shifted the pack on her shoulders. _It's been what a year? Two? _ She sighed heavily and looked towards the sky. _Why did it have to be this way? Why did it have to end like this? Why can't I be strong-_ Her thoughts were interrupted when she had that feeling that someone was looking at her. She turned around quickly and saw- _Sasuke?_ She saw Sasuke look at her with a questioning glance. Obviously he didn't recognize who she was yet so she decided not to look too long. _If I run, he would get suspicious and might come after me,_ she thought quickly. _But what's he doing out here so late?_

Sasuke saw the shaded figure quickly turn his gaze from him. _Strange,_ he thought to himself. _I wonder if he's from Konoha or Orochimaru…_ Then he saw the figure walk towards the gates and out of the village. Sasuke shrugged inwardly and followed the strange person out of Konoha's gates. But once he got outside and onto the path that led into the woods, the person was gone. _I suppose I should hurry and get away from this place in case that guy was from Konoha. I don't want anyone following me._ He sprinted down the path leaving a small trail of dust behind him.

Sora had hidden herself in one of the trees near the village walls to see what Sasuke was doing. She saw him stop and contemplate something. Then a second later, she saw him fly down the path at an amazing speed. She felt the sudden urge to go after him to see where he was going. Worries automatically sprung up in her mind of what he might be doing. _No, no,_ she told herself. _No, I've…I've got to let him…them all go. It's none of my business anymore. _She located the North Star and set her course towards her intended destination: _her _village.


	14. Part XIV: Don't Come After Me

Part XIV: Don't Come After Me

"WHAT?" Naruto shouted in shock.

"Geez, calm down, Naruto," Shikamaru said wiping some spit off of his face that had come from the gaping boy in front of him.

"I can't believe-"

"Don't make such a big deal out of it."

"No, it's just…" Naruto trailed off trying to think before he said anything. "It's just awesome that you're an official Chuunin now!" He gave a thumbs-up sign.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"Congrats, man! I mean, no one else passed. You should be proud, right?" Naruto said trying to make Shikamaru at least _seem_ happy about his promotion.

"Thanks, I guess," Shikamaru said with a small nod. _But it's not like I had my heart set on being a Chuunin. I thought that by quitting it would all be over and done with, _he thought inwardly. "But anyway, that's not the reason I came here-"

"That's so cool though! I mean, you can lead a squad now and do more missions. You're a real shinobi now! Wow! We should go out and celebrate or something-oh, that is if you don't have anything scheduled now that you're a Chuunin-"

"Naruto, will you-"

"But yeah, I was trying to find Sora-chan or Sasuke earlier today and I couldn't find them at all so I had to do my morning training by myself. You haven't seen them, have you?" Naruto finally stopped talking and waited for a reply. He had thought it strange that neither Sora nor Sasuke were anywhere to be found in the village. Numerous possibilities had run through his head of what they might be doing alone or together.

Shikamaru sighed in exasperation. "That's what I came to talk to you about in the first place before you started going on about this stupid vest," he said smacking a hand to his forehead. "Hokage-sama gave me a mission that I need to carry out with a team of Genins since all the Jounins and other Chuunins are busy."

"Mission?" Naruto asked getting excited but also confused at why this had to do with Sasuke or Sora.

Shikamaru nodded gravely. "This morning, Sasuke was found missing."

"WHAT?" Naruto really shouted this time. "Missing? But-but where did he g-"

"We don't know!" Shikamaru interrupted getting more annoyed. "That's why he's _missing_!"

Naruto's heart raced a mile a minute. "Then we've got to find him!"

"That's what the mission is!" Shikamaru said quickly before Naruto could run off. "I'm supposed to lead a team of Genins outside of the village towards where they've said he's gone."

"How do they know which way he went?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "I guess they have their ways."

"Was he kidnapped or something? Tell me what happened!" Naruto demanded clenching his fists.

"Sasuke left willingly, it seems, during the night. They checked his house and a lot of his things were gone, probably because he packed them. Kakashi-sensei testified that Sasuke might have gone with the Sound ninjas to Orochimaru."

"Orochimaru?"

Shikamaru nodded. "But anyway, get ready to leave as soon as possible and go to the gate. I have to get the other guys, ok?"

Naruto nodded his head unable to speak. It all happened so suddenly. He watched in a dazed stare as Shikamaru sprinted off to find other Genins for the mission. _How is this happening?_ he asked himself. _Sasuke left…by himself? I don't understand…but wait! What about Sora? I haven't seen her all day! She couldn't have gone with him to Orochimaru. She would have tried to stop him, wouldn't she? Or maybe she just doesn't know yet._ Naruto shook his head. _But there's no time to tell her. I've gotta get my stuff!_ He ran back inside his apartment to get his necessities.

A few minutes later, the team was assembled at Konoha's main gates. Shikamaru had gathered Chouji, Kiba and Akamaru, and Neji as the rest of the team. Lee had wanted to come too but was still recovering from his surgery. The four Genins stood in a line facing Shikamaru as he got ready to explain his plan.

"All right now everyone listen up cause we're short on time," Shikamaru said to the group. "This is an A-class mission and we're without a Jounin so we've got to be extra careful. I don't want anyone in my team screwing around. This is serious."

The others nodded respectfully.

"We'll go in a single-file line with Kiba and Akamaru in front because they know the territory best and they can sniff out Sasuke's trail and any danger that might be ahead."

"Got it," Kiba said in confirmation. Akamaru yipped and nodded his head.

"I'll be next in line so I can communicate with Kiba easily and signal the rest of you guys with just my hands. Then comes Naruto. You're quick with your reactions so you'll be able to help out in either the front or back if needed."

Naruto nodded but said nothing to everyone's surprise.

"Ok, then Chouji is after Naruto. You pack the biggest punch in our group so you'll be good as a surprise attack in the front or a wall of defense in the back."

"Hm," Chouji said in agreement. He wasn't eating potato chips this time, also to everyone's surprise.

"Then I'm last," Neji said quietly nodding.

"Yes," Shikamaru confirmed. "Your Byakugan enables you to see in all directions and we definitely need that safeguard behind us." Then Shikamaru turned around so that his back was towards his team. He sighed heavily before speaking again. "This is a mission where there is the chance of dying. But since we are Konoha ninjas, we have a duty to our village. It's not about whether or not we like the mission or not. Heck, I don't even like Sasuke that much, but he is a fellow Konoha ninja and we must be willing to risk our lives to save his." He turned back around. "Agreed?"

"Agreed."

Shikamaru nodded. _I hope I can do this,_ he thought nervously. He had tried to act calm and collected on the outside to hopefully give his team and himself a mental boost, but he was a complete wreck on the inside. _I need to balance the input and the output. I won't let this become a suicide mission._ "Let's go."

The boys ran through the gates in their formation without another word. Each was filled with his own thoughts as they entered the forest and began jumping from branch to branch to go more quickly.

_So Sasuke went with Orochimaru,_ Naruto thought with clenched teeth. _We'll get him back, no problem._

The dawn was breaking in the autumn sky and Sora hadn't even gotten out of the Fire country yet even though she had been running nonstop and as fast as she could keep up. She was still in the midst of the gigantic forest that surrounded the hidden village.

After a few more hours, she finally had to stop and rest. She measured that she was a bit less than 200 miles away from the village and figured that if she kept up this rate, she could make it to her village in maybe a few days. She landed near a small stream completely breathless from her intense run. She took the black cloth covering her face off and decided that she didn't really need the mask anymore. She got some food out of her pack and a small container for water, and then sat down on a rock next to the sparkling stream.

The trees were in the process of losing the leaves that clothed them three-fourths of the year. Sora sighed as she looked around. The thought that winter would soon come raised her spirits, but only slightly. She knew that her favorite season wouldn't be the same to her since she didn't have her Chakra. Everything would be different.

All of a sudden, Sora felt the effects of not sleeping come upon her in a rush. Her eyelids began drooping down and the hold that she had on her water container loosened. It soon fell to the ground spilling the water over the dying grass. She woke with a start at the soft thump the container created when it hit. _I must be really tired…_ she thought. But no matter how much she wanted to rest, she knew that she couldn't stop until she reached the border of the Country of Fire at least. _There must be only a few more miles,_ she thought to boost her energy. _After I get out of this place, I promise I'll rest._ She quickly got off of the rock and picked up the fallen object. She pulled out the black cloth that she had taken off earlier and wiped the container dry. After putting her things away, she stretched a bit and then began running again.

The boys ran through the forest as quickly and quietly as they could. It had already been a few hours and they didn't seem to be getting anywhere. They could only rely on Akamaru's nose.

"Are we getting closer?" Shikamaru whispered to Kiba.

"I think so," Kiba replied just as quietly. "Luckily Sasuke's group didn't cover much distance during the night so we're gaining on them."

"Good." Shikamaru signaled to the others to pick up the pace.

The forest was beginning to thin and Sora could see the border off in the distance. She was almost spent but she kept herself going. _Just until the border…just until the border…_ she repeatedly said to herself for motivation. She still had a few more miles to go. It was sometime in the afternoon and although it was autumn, it was clear day and the sun beat down on her mercilessly. It also didn't help that she was wearing long sleeves and pants that were all black.

Sora finally made it to the end of the forest and now there was only a vast plain to cover and then she would be out of the Fire country…but no matter how hard she tried to keep running, she had to stop. She slowed down to a walk and went on for a few minutes to slow her heart beat down. Then she collapsed to the ground panting. _Dammit…_ she thought and put a hand over her chest. The tall grass around her swayed peacefully in the wind seeming to ignore the pains and frustrations the red-haired girl held inside.

_You're going to kill yourself._

_But if I don't get out of here, I might change my mind,_ Sora thought. _I can't take that chance! I've got to make it to the border!_

She pulled herself up from the ground and felt her muscles scream out in protest, but she ignored them. "I've got to make it…"

"I won't let you go any further than this," the big Sound ninja said coolly as he faced off with the five boys. "Sasuke-sama has chosen to come with us so you can leave quietly or I'll be forced to destroy you."

"You liar!" Naruto spat immediately. "Sasuke would never go with you guys willingly!"

"Naruto," Shikamaru said sternly and grabbed Naruto's arm before he did anything drastic.

"Jiroubou," one of the other Sound ninjas with multiple arms said as he picked up a barrel that had strange seals on it that held the top closed. "You'd better make sure they can't follow us."

"I will." Jiroubou said nodding his head. "You three go ahead with Sasuke-sama."

"We'll be expecting you to catch up soon," the female ninja said somewhat mockingly.

The final Sound ninja with two heads said nothing but leaped out of the clearing and the other two followed leaving the one called Jiroubou behind.

"What?" Naruto shouted. "We can't just let them go!" He pulled free from Shikamaru and began running after the escaping Nins.

But with amazing speed, Jiroubou made a simple earth seal with his hands and struck the ground. A trail of rocks came shooting up from the earth and blocked Naruto's path causing him to stop before he hit a wall.

"What?"

"I told you, I won't let you go any further than this," Jiroubou said.

"It's five against one," Shikamaru said. "What makes you so sure that you'll be able to hold us off?"

Jiroubou was unfazed. "Because you've already fallen into my trap."

"Huh?" The boys felt the ground shudder from under them. Then the wall of rock that had impeded Naruto's path began to extend around the boys. They had no time to react and were soon trapped inside a small rock barrier.

"This is wasting our time!" Kiba yelled impatiently not really thinking much of the barrier. "Let's get outta here! Tsuuga: Piercing Fang!" He became a spinning torpedo and hit the wall with what would have been an earth-shattering force except when he stopped, he hadn't broken through and the wall seemed to be regenerating itself. "What the hell is this?" Kiba shouted angrily and slammed his fist into the wall.

"Byakugan!" Neji's eyes scanned the wall. "This isn't an ordinary earth technique, Shikamaru," he said calmly as his eyes went back to normal. "It's absorbing our Chakra."

"Hm," Shikamaru said scanning the Chakra-eating wall with his own eyes. _This might prove to be more troublesome than I thought._

"Forget this! We can still bust this thing open!" Kiba growled and gave Akamaru a soldier pill. "Gijyu Ninpo: Beast Morph!" Akamaru transformed into Kiba's clone and the two spun themselves and began their brutal attack on the wall. The dome shook with the hits it received from the attacks but held together. Once Kiba and Akamaru had to stop their attack, they still hadn't broken through and the wall was once again regenerating.

"Dammit!" Kiba shouted but was panting heavily from the attack. He was beginning to feel the effects of the Chakra-eating wall on him especially since he was also using his Chakra as well as just losing it.

"We're wasting time!" Naruto said angrily. "We've got to get out of here now! Kage Buushin No Jutsu!" Two Narutos appeared and one immediately got to work on making a Rasengan attack in the other's hand but nothing seemed to be happening. "Huh?" both Narutos said at the same time. Then the clone disappeared. "Dammit, this wall's eating up all my Chakra!"

Shikamaru finally spoke but not to his group. "Hey," he called to Jiroubou. "If we promise not to go after Sasuke, will you let us go?"

"What?" Naruto and Kiba immediately shouted at Shikamaru.

"Are you crazy?" Naruto said catching Shikamaru by his shirt.

"I don't think you'd betray Konoha so easily," Jiroubou's voice came floating through the dome.

"That's right!" Naruto agreed with their enemy.

"Naruto, shut up!" Chouji said quietly and took out a bag of potato chips and began eating.

Naruto dropped Shikamaru and glared at Chouji. "How can you tell me to shut up when our leader's just given up on the mission?"

Chouji didn't respond and kept eating furiously.

"If we don't get out of here soon, this wall will eat up all our Chakra!" Kiba said to Shikamaru. "Now's not the time for negotiating!"

"Can you do another Tsuuga, Kiba?" Shikamaru asked ignoring both Kiba's and Naruto's comments.

"Wha? Uh, yeah," Kiba said a little taken aback by Shikamaru's calm manner. "Tsuuga!" Kiba and Akamaru once again went torpedoing through the air hitting the sides of the dome with all their might.

"Neji, find a weak spot quickly!" Shikamaru ordered.

Neji nodded catching on to what Shikamaru was planning. "Byakugan!" Neji scanned as quickly as he could at the damage that Kiba and Akamaru had done. He noted that some spots were regenerating much more slowly than others. He soon spotted the slowest one. "There!" He threw a kunai at the spot.

"Just where I thought," Shikamaru said nodding as Kiba and Akamaru stopped attacking. Both were panting hard. "Good job, guys, I think I have a way out."

Naruto and Kiba both looked completely clueless while Neji was slowly figuring out Shikamaru's strategy, but Chouji had known from the beginning. "I'm ready, Shikamaru!" Chouji announced as he threw down what seemed like his twentieth empty potato chip bag.

Shikamaru nodded to signal Chouji to do his thing.

"Meatball Dance!" Chouji cried and his body inflated into a massive, round bulk. Then he rolled into a spinning ball of force and crashed through the back of the rock dome.

The team of Konoha Genins appeared through the dust as Jiroubou squinted his eyes to see. _They might be more annoying than I thought…_

"All right!" Naruto shouted and punched a fist into his other hand. "Let's defeat this guy quickly and move on!"

Neji nodded. "The others are pretty far away now."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Kiba snarled. Then he and Naruto attacked head on.

Jiroubou stood up and slammed his fists into the earth causing a tidal wave of rocks and dirt to come between him and his attackers.

"What-AHH!" Naruto and Kiba were thrown back from the Sound ninja's defensive move.

"Stay back, everyone!" Chouji announced as he whipped out his arm to keep the others from advancing. "This one's mine. You go on ahead."

"What?" Shikamaru said in surprise.

Chouji nodded. "I can defeat him."

Jiroubou narrowed his eyes. "I can't let any of you pass." He ran towards the Genins forming seals.

The boys all immediately tried to leap out of reach, but Chouji remained in his place and met Jiroubou stopping his attack with amazing strength. "GO!" he shouted at the others as he grappled with the Sound Nin.

"But, Chouji!" Naruto said.

"No, I can handle this!" Chouji shouted again. He pushed with all his strength and was able to slide his opponent back a bit.

_This kid's strong,_ Jiroubou thought to himself.

"Shikamaru!" Naruto shouted. "Do something!"

Shikamaru took one look at his teammate and his mind was made up. "We don't have a choice. Let's go." He leaped off into the trees after the other Sound ninjas and Sasuke.

"Ah, dammit," Kiba snarled at Jiroubou and then leaped off after his leader. Akamaru followed with a whimper.

"Come on, Naruto," Neji said and grabbed his arm.

Naruto clenched his teeth. He stared once more at Chouji and Jiroubou and then with a grunt of disapproval, he turned his back. "You'd better catch up, Chouji! All right?" Then he and Neji went after their other teammates.

Chouji heard their footsteps fade in the distance, then he smiled. The two fighters threw each other back and were now a more comfortable distance apart.

"I'll take care of you quickly," Jiroubou said with confidence.

"We'll see who takes care of who," Chouji said back with just as much confidence.

Step after step after step…each one seemed to be more tiring and more difficult to take. But Sora's stubbornness kept her on her feet and moving forward no matter how slow her progress was. She lifted her head wearily and saw the border in the wavering distance. "Thank God," she whispered through chapped lips. She needed water, she needed food, she needed rest. The sun beat down relentlessly on her back. Sora shifted the pack on her shoulders and straightened her back. "Just a few more…" She continued walking in silence with her head down to keep the sun out of her eyes and also because she was too tired to lift her head.

"Finally you caught up!" Tayuya the female Sound Nin scoffed as she saw Jiroubou land in front of their group. They had stopped to rest a bit since they were pretty sure that Jiroubou would win the battle and it seems like he did.

"Sorry," Jiroubou said quietly.

"You really are a worthless piece of shit if it took you that long to get rid of those pathetic kids," Tayuya spat. "You carry the barrel."

Jiroubou nodded.

Kidoumaru, the spider-like Nin slowly took off the barrel, but instead of throwing it to Jiroubou, he threw it to Tayuya.

"What the f-"

"Since when did you become so obedient, Jiroubou?" Kidoumaru asked and then leaped to attack him.

_Shoot._ Shikamaru transformed back into himself and was able to dodge the spider's brutal attack. "Now, Neji!" he shouted.

Neji appeared suddenly from behind Kidoumaru and attacked but Kidoumaru was too quick.

"Get the hell out of here!" Kidoumaru shouted at the two remaining Sound Nins. "I can handle these guys." He quickly spun a web and caught Neji in it.

"Dammit," Neji muttered as he struggled to get free, but he couldn't break the sticky strands.

"Neji!" Naruto shouted and landed next to Neji. He pulled out a kunai and began trying to cut through the web.

"It's no use," Neji said calmly. "The web's made of Chakra."

"But-"

"Just go after the other two. I can fight him."

Shikamaru and Kiba, meanwhile, were trying to keep Kidoumaru away from their teammates, but Kidoumaru was incredibly strong. "Shoot," Kiba hissed as he barely dodged another web attack. "What's the plan?"

"So Jiroubou really is worthless," Tayuya said and strapped the barrel to her back.

"Let's go," Sakon, the Nin with two heads, said stoically. The two left.

Kidoumaru shot his web out in all directions trapping all of the Konoha Genins. "Finally," he said with a mocking sigh. "Now I can dispose of you nice and easy."

"Dammit!" Naruto cursed under his breath.

"Ninpou Kumo Nenkin (Spider Web Adhesive Hypha)!" Kidoumaru said and spiked cane-weapons with a special brown webbing melded together in each of his hands. "Now which one of you should I kill first?"

Then Neji suddenly flashed an amazing blue, blinding everyone around him for a second. When the others looked back over at him, he was standing on his feet completely free of any webbing. "You should go after Sasuke," he said quietly to his teammates.

As he spoke, the webbing on the other Genins suddenly cracked and split into pieces. The boys were completely shocked.

"What?" Kidoumaru said. He stared hard at the clear-eyed boy below him. "A Hyuuga," he said to himself. "Hm. I guess he'll be the first to go."

Neji readied himself. "Go!" he commanded the other boys.

Naruto was stunned. "But we've already left Chouji and now-"

"I'm telling you to leave," Neji said sternly.

Shikamaru felt his guilt rise within him. This would be the second one on his team that he would leave behind. But there wasn't any other way to save Sasuke. "He's right, Naruto," he said. "There's no other option."

"What?"

"Let's go." Shikamaru leaped into the trees and began going after the other two Sound Nins.

Kiba said nothing but narrowed his eyes and followed Shikamaru.

"Don't lose to this guy, all right, Neji?" Naruto said and then took off. He hated the fact that they had to leave their teammates behind but there was nothing he could do.

Neji quickly sent out a wave of Chakra towards his opponent to keep his attention on him. "You'll fight me," he said firmly.

"Don't get so cocky," Kidoumaru spat and leaped down towards Neji with another attack.

"This is taking way too long," Kiba commented as the now three boys ran after the two Sound ninjas.

"Indeed," Shikamaru replied somewhat annoyed.

"Well, we should finish the last two off now," Naruto said angrily.

"Yeah," Kiba agreed.

"Yes," Shikamaru said. "Before it gets dark. Listen up, I have a plan."

The border. It was such a relief to the weary girl. Sora saw a few guard houses but since it was nearing dinner time, only a few guards were out. She kept herself hidden as well as she could and tied the black cloth around her head again. She needed to sneak past the guards because she didn't have an official passport that allowed her to leave legally. It wasn't too hard to get in and out since the border to Konoha covered so much land, but this was the fastest way to get to her village. _Ok, _Sora thought to herself. _This won't be too bad. As long as I keep my strength up, I should be able to get past here and to the foot of the mountains tonight._ She knew that she couldn't rest until she was far enough away, so she decided to take her time in the safety of her hiding spot to form a plan.

"Haha, suckers!" Kiba shouted as he reached the barrel. He picked it up and ran off back towards the village.

"Yes!" Naruto shouted and went after him closely followed by Shikamaru.

"DAMMIT!" Tayuya yelled and immediately went after them.

"This is getting annoying!" Sakon hissed and joined Tayuya in her pursuit.

"Akamaru," Kiba said to his dog.

He yipped in response and fell behind.

"What's he doing?" Naruto asked.

"Setting traps to slow them down," Kiba explained. "He'll be able to catch up."

"Oh, right," Naruto said nodding.

"They're gaining on us though," Shikamaru said. "I can feel their Chakra."

Suddenly a high pitched wail sounded through the air. "What?" Kiba said and suddenly stopped. He threw the barrel over to Naruto. "You guys go! Akamaru's in trouble!" He sprinted back to save his dog.

Naruto stood for a second holding the barrel, unsure of what to do.

"Let's get out of here!" Shikamaru yelled and started running again pulling Naruto along with him.

A few seconds later, the two boys heard an enormous explosion behind them. "What? Kiba!" Naruto yelled and stopped running again.

"Dammit," Shikamaru said and stopped beside Naruto. _I have to decide. We've got Sasuke, but Kiba's in trouble…_ The thoughts swam relentlessly in his head. _Dammit, dammit, dammit!_

"Hah! I caught up," Tayuya laughed as she landed on a branch above the Konoha Genins.

"What happened to Kiba and Akamaru?" Naruto demanded.

"Oh?" Tayuya said mockingly. "They took a tumble over the cliff."

"What?" Shikamaru said.

Tayuya nodded with a sick smile on her face. "Don't worry, he probably survived the fall, but Sakon's sure to kill him."

"Damn you!" Naruto shouted but didn't dare attack since he was holding the barrel.

"Naruto get back to the village," Shikamaru ordered.

"What? Not again! This is ridiculous!" Naruto said incredulously.

"Go now while we still have a chance of saving Sasuke!" Shikamaru yelled.

"Oh no you don't!" Tayuya shouted.

Then suddenly a shadow passed over Naruto and the barrel was taken from him. "What the hell?" Naruto said and quickly looked around to locate who it was.

A man with long white hair pulled into two parts landed next to Tayuya. His skin was pale and his eyes were lined with red. "Keep them here while I take him," he said. His voice was soft and powerful.

"K-kimimaru?" Tayuya asked fear striking her eyes. "How are you moving? Your body's-"

"There's no time," Kimimaru said calmly. "You were too slow."

Tayuya clenched her teeth.

"Orochimaru-sama's time is almost up."

"Fine!" Tayuya said and turned back to face the boys.

Kimimaru leaped out of sight.

"What?" Naruto shouted angrily. "No, we've got to get Sasuke back!" He started after Kimimaru but was stopped by Tayuya punching him in the face back towards Shikamaru.

"I will not fail him again!" Tayuya said as black markings began to spread across her face and arms. "This time, you won't escape."

"Shoot," Shikamaru said. "At this rate, the pale guy's going to get away."

"Then let's get going!" Naruto shouted.

"Wait," Shikamaru commanded. Then he whispered so that only Naruto could hear him.

"It doesn't matter what shitty strategy you think up," Tayuya spat. "There's no way I'm letting you pass."

"We'll see about that," Shikamaru said. "Now!" The two boys ran straight for Tayuya.

"Stupid," Tayuya said to herself.

As the two boys reached Tayuya, instead of attacking, Naruto leaped right over her head and off in the direction that Kimimaru went.

"What?" Tayuya gasped in surprise.

"Gotcha," Shikamaru's voice said to her left.

She tried to look but was trapped. "Shit!"

"You're battle ends here," Shikamaru said as he held her in his Shadow Bind.

There was some light left but not much since it looked like a storm was coming. _It's time._ Staying low to the ground and in the shadows of the sparse trees and bushes, Sora stole her way towards the border. There were two guards walking back and forth making it a little more difficult for Sora not to be spotted, but this was the least guarded area as far as Sora could see. So with a deep breath, she sprinted silently out of her hiding place and ran towards the border.

"Huh?" one of the guards said. "Did you hear something?"

"I'm not sure," the other said. They looked around scanning the area.

Sora was forced to hide behind a small bush that was just on the border. She didn't dare move while the guards were on alert.

"Hm," the guard who spoke first said after a few excruciating seconds for Sora. "I guess not."

"Yeah, nothing ever comes out here," the other said with a yawn.

Sora breathed a small sigh of relief and peeked over the bush. She saw the two guards begin walking back and forth again. Then she located another bush across the border and sprinted for it.

"Wait, I definitely heard something," the second guard said looking in the direction that Sora had run. "Let's check it out."

"Ok." The two guards were coming.

_Oh crap, crap, crap,_ Sora thought. _I need to knock them out somehow or outrun them! But I can't outrun them. They're ninjas, right?_ She heard their footsteps stop a few feet in front of her bush.

"I don't see anything."

"Me neither."

_Or not…_ Sora held her breath when she heard their footsteps start up again.

"Probably an animal?"

"Yeah."

Then one of them yawned loudly and stopped walking. "It's almost dinner time," he said. "Let's get back so we can switch posts."

"Good idea." The footsteps faded.

Sora finally let her breath out. Then when she was sure that they were far enough away, she stole silently from behind the bush and out of the Country of Fire.

"Kage Buushin No Jutsu!" A huge number of Narutos appeared surround Kimimaru. They were out of the forest now in a small opening covered in tall grass. The Naruto gang attacked full force.

"Yangi no mai (Dance of the Willow)," Kimimaru said and two pointed spikes grew out of the palms of his hands. He began attacking the Narutos in a fluid, flawless motion. The Narutos began to disappear in poofs of smoke.

Finally after almost half of the Narutos were gone, the two stopped their attacks. Purple smoke was beginning to leak out of the barrel that held Sasuke. Naruto noticed. "Why does Orochimaru want Sasuke anyway?" he demanded.

Kimimaru calmly stood up straight with his hands at his sides, the spikes still sticking out of his flesh. "Orochimaru-sama needs a new body," he said softly.

"Body?"

"Since this disease infected my own, I cannot offer it to him anymore. In order to thank him for everything that he's done for me, I will take Sasuke to him, even if it costs me my life."

"Everything he's done for you?" Naruto asked not believing his ears. "What can that slimy snake possibly do for anyone?"

Kimimaru's eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't understand," he replied and then quicker than the Narutos could react, he began attacking.

The Narutos couldn't even defend themselves at all. Kimimaru was too strong. Finally the last clone disappeared in a cloud of smoke. "Dammit," the real Naruto said as he backed away.

Kimimaru turned to face him. "You're time is up."

But before either of them could do anything, the barrel began to shake violently and the seals were ripped off of the wood and the top came off releasing a huge amount of black and purple smoke into the air. Then as the smoke cleared, Sasuke's figure appeared standing on the ground with his back towards Naruto and Kimimaru.

"S-sasuke!" Naruto yelled.

Sasuke didn't seem to hear Naruto. He lifted his hands up and looked at them. "I've never felt such power," he said with an eerie quietness.

_Oh no…_ "Sasuke, come on, let's get back to the village. Everyone's waiting for you," he said with a forced laugh trying to lighten the mood.

Then without warning, Sasuke leaped off into the forest away from the village.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted and started after him.

Kimimaru cut him off. "I can't let you interfere with Orochimaru-sama's plan," he said. He attacked him with one of the spikes in his hands but then was suddenly kicked to the side. "What?" Kimimaru said in a daze as he got to his feet again.

"Naruto-kun!"

"What? Lee?"

"You go after Sasuke-san. I'll take care of him!" Lee said giving a thumbs-up to Naruto.

"But…you…"

"Please go quickly before Sasuke-san gets away," Lee said.

"I can't believe this is happening!" Naruto shouted and grabbed his hair. "I'm leaving everyone behind and-"

"Naruto-kun," Lee interrupted. "This is no time to be heroic. The mission must be completed."

Naruto growled. "Fine," he said and turned to run after Sasuke.

Lee faced his opponent with a smile on his face. "You seem very similar to Sasuke-san," he commented.

Kimimaru remained silent.

"You have a Blood-Line Limit ability with your bones. And I also see that your body is not moving by physical force."

Kimimaru narrowed his eyes at the green-clad, odd-looking Genin in front of him. "And you seem to be a master in the art of Taijutsu," he replied coldly.

"Well, not a master yet," Lee said laughing innocently.

That annoyed Kimimaru and without warning, he ran at Lee with his bones sticking out of his hands.

Lee reacted quickly and the two fighters began their dance.

The clouds had covered the setting sun now as Sora neared the safety of the forest at the foot of the mountains. Once she was covered by their shadows, she stopped running and collapsed to the ground. She quickly unwrapped the cloth around her head so that she could cool herself down more quickly. But although she was sitting to rest her body, her senses never stopped working. She was able to hear the faint sound of a mountain stream flowing nearby, but it would take more coaxing to get her to her feet again.

"Come on," she said to herself. "You made it this far. Don't give up on yourself just yet." She pushed herself up to her feet and walked shakily towards the stream.

After a nice drink and some food, Sora could finally allow herself to rest. She knew that no one usually came this deep into the forest since no one she could think of that was alive, except herself, knew how to navigate safely through the woods and the mountain paths. But nonetheless, she climbed a tree and made her bed on a broad branch. She covered herself with a thin blanket she had managed to stuff into her pack and then almost immediately fell asleep.

"Sasuke! Wait!" Naruto called as he chased after his friend to a waterfall. He saw Sasuke on top of a statue on one side of the waterfall. Naruto ran towards the cliff and began to jump from ledge to ledge until he was on an equal level with Sasuke. "Sasuke, what are you doing?"

Sasuke slowly turned to face Naruto.

Naruto's eyes widened in shock. "No…" One of Sasuke's eyes was already infected with the curse. Instead of his usual black, haunting gaze, a yellow, evil snake eye stared back at him. "Sasuke-"

"And why are you here?" Sasuke interrupted. His voice was full of mockery.

"W-we came to take you back to the village," Naruto said astonished at Sasuke's attitude.

"I'm not going back."

"What? Of course you are!"

"Pathetic fool," Sasuke scoffed. "You don't get it, do you?"

Naruto stared at his friend through horror-stricken eyes.

"You think that by staying in Konoha, I can get the power I need to achieve my goals?" Sasuke laughed. "I'm not going to get anywhere if I go back to the village."

"But what about us?" Naruto asked getting angry. "You think you can just leave? We're your friends! Otherwise why would we come after you in the first place?"

"Hm," Sasuke laughed. "You're wasting your time."

Now Naruto couldn't hold back his anger. He flew at Sasuke and landed a hard punch right in his cheek sending him flying backwards. Sasuke landed on his back but before he could get up, Naruto was on top of him holding him down. "I don't care if I have to pound you into a million pieces!" he growled. "You're coming back with me!"

Sasuke smiled and spat blood up at Naruto's face.

Naruto punched him across the face again. "Stop mocking me!" he snarled. His eyes were beginning to turn pointed and his nails grew into claws.

"Why would I want to go back, especially with you?" Sasuke said and threw Naruto off of him sending him over the edge of the statue and down towards the water.

Naruto managed to use his Chakra and skid down the side of the cliff slowing himself down. Once he reached the bottom, he looked back up to see Sasuke laughing at him. "Sasuke!" he shouted up at him, his voice echoing through the air.

"You, of all people," Sasuke laughed. "I don't get how you even think that you could convince me to go back. Anyone else might've had more luck than you!"

"What?" Naruto said through clenched teeth.

Then Sasuke stopped laughing and glared at Naruto, his snake eye glinting. "You," he snarled. "When we started, you were nothing. The worst. And then you get this power." He paused for a second. "And Sora-"

That got Naruto angry again. "Don't bring her into this!" he shouted at Sasuke.

"You brought her into this!" Sasuke shouted back, his anger level rising. "You were trying to steal her from me!"

"She's not yours!"

"You're wrong!" Sasuke clenched his fist. "She belongs to me!" He raced down the statue at Naruto.

Naruto began jumping from ledge to ledge again up towards Sasuke.

The two boys pulled back their fists and met in a simultaneous punch. Each one blocked the other with his other hand. It was a deadlock.

"You don't deserve her," Sasuke said in Naruto's ear as he pushed down with all his strength.

"And you don't either," Naruto spat back.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes even more and then purposely moved to the side and fell towards the water leaving Naruto standing on the side of the statue. "I will defeat you!" he shouted and threw a kunai up at Naruto.

Naruto reacted quickly and threw his own blade at the approaching one and the two clashed together and spun off in different directions. Then Naruto ran down the statue towards Sasuke who had landed on the water. They raced towards each other with anger fueling their attacks.

It began to rain. Sora woke up with a start as a droplet of water hit her face. She sat up slowly and wiped it off her cheek. "Rain?" She shook herself awake and quickly got up to see if she could possibly find a better shelter nearby. Nothing. Sora sighed heavily. _I guess I'll have to find another place to stay for tonight,_ she thought miserably. She stuffed her blanket into her pack before it got any wetter and jumped down from the tree. Upon landing, her legs gave way underneath her and she fell to her knees. "Dammit," she cursed in frustration. She slowly lifted herself back to her feet.

"Ok, think," Sora said out loud. She tried to remember if there was a cave anywhere near where she was. "Maybe…" She began to walk deeper into the woods as the rain came down harder.

The two separated from the incredible force. Both were panting as they faced off but neither dared to let his guard down.

"Sasuke," Naruto panted. His eyes were red and pointed. His teeth were fangs and his nails were fully grown claws. A glowing red aura surrounded him, but slowly faded. "I have to know."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow and said nothing.

"I know that we both, we both love Sora, but even with that between us, are we friends or not?"

The question hit Sasuke like a bolt of lightening. His mind flashed back to their very first mission as a team. They worked so well together as a team against Zabuza. Then he and Naruto had had to train far into the night to climb the tree with their Chakra. They had kept each other going through their rivalry, but yet, Sasuke knew that he had enjoyed training with him. And during the fight with Haku, the Ice ninja, even though Naruto had been stupid to come in on the fight with no strategy, he had fought side by side with Sasuke to the end. Then the Chuunin exam flashed through his mind. They had worked as a team to get out of the forest alive. When Sasuke was about to give the scroll to the snake man, Naruto had knocked sense into him. Naruto had said that this wasn't the Sasuke that he knew. Then he thought about all the times when Naruto would cheer him on during his fights. It annoyed him at the time, but now, it was clear that Naruto meant more than just saying that he was the one to beat him. He was cheering him on as a friend.

Sasuke let his breath out slowly. "Yes," he said quietly. "Through all our experiences, you've become my best friend."

Hope fluttered in Naruto's eyes. "Then why-"

"But because of that, I must defeat you."

Naruto looked at Sasuke thoroughly confused. "I don't understand-"

"So don't hold back!" Sasuke shouted and ran at him again with screaming lightening forming in his hand.

Naruto quickly got back on the defense and made a clone who began to swirl the air and Chakra into Naruto's palm forming his ultimate technique. _I don't understand. He called me his best friend…and yet he's still fighting me,_ he thought as the Rasengan was completed. His clone disappeared. "But I'll end this now!" he shouted and ran forward towards Sasuke.

Water shot up into the sky as the two ran at each other. Then with a powerful clash, they were thrown backwards from each other, Sasuke towards the waterfall and Naruto towards the cliff. Sasuke crashed through the waterfall and into the rock behind it creating a massive hole. Naruto was thrown into the cliff as well and huge rocks came tumbling down the sides of the cliff from the force.

Sasuke recovered first and came out from behind the waterfall and scanned the area for Naruto. He saw a cloud of smoke where Naruto had hit but Naruto was nowhere to be seen. He took the opportunity to release his curse. The markings spread across his face and body. The power he felt was incredible, almost as if he was invincible.

Naruto came running across the water. His Chakra aura was glowing brightly again. "SASUKE!" he shouted.

Sasuke, getting a boost from his new power, met him head on and stopped his fist from contacting his face. Then he held on to Naruto's shirt and punched him hard across the face causing blood to fly out from Naruto's mouth. But Sasuke didn't stop. He quickly formed a Chidori in his hand again and pulled back.

Naruto saw his attack coming and although he was dazed from the punch, he managed to get free from Sasuke's hold but not his attack.

The Chidori came in contact with Naruto's shoulder, missing any vital areas, but now Naruto couldn't use his right arm at all. He couldn't form another Rasengan. Naruto fell back onto the water's surface. His blood spread out from his wound staining the clear water a dark red.

"I'm sorry," Sasuke said thinking that Naruto was defeated. He stood up and pulled back his hand from Naruto's shoulder. It dripped with his blood. "It's over."

But as he raised his hand to deliver a finishing blow, he felt a powerful force sweep over him. Sasuke stopped his attack and backed up. He saw the red Chakra surrounding Naruto lift his body back up to a standing position. Sasuke couldn't believe his eyes.

Then the terrible face of the fox demon formed in the burning Chakra. Naruto's wounds began to heal at an amazing pace.

Sasuke stumbled backwards in shock and slight fear. "What are you?" he asked with a shaky voice.

Naruto's eyes opened. "Your friend," he growled. "That's why I'm not leaving without you!"

Sora looked up at the sky. She was in a clearing now so the trees weren't blocking her view. "It's moving south," she said to herself. "Maybe it'll pass soon." She continued to walk in the rain.

Naruto slammed Sasuke into the side of the cliff causing the whole wall of rock to shake. "Have you come to your senses yet?" Naruto asked. "If not, I'm not going to stop even if I have to break every bone in your body!" He grabbed Sasuke's torn shirt pulling him up to a standing position.

"Shut up," Sasuke said. Blood was dripping down his face. "You've been alone from the start. You don't know what it's like to lose everyone close to you!"

Naruto released Sasuke's shirt and stepped back. "I might not know anything about parents or siblings. But sometimes when I'm with our team I wonder if that's what it's like to have a family. Kakashi, Sora...and, and then when I'm with you, I wonder if that's what it's like to have a brother," Naruto said.

Sasuke looked hard at his opponent. "A brother?"

Naruto nodded. "Our team was the first real bond I've ever had."

Sasuke then took out his forehead protector. "You once said that if I wore this, it would signify that we are equals," he said softly. He tied it around his head. "Now we'll fight, though I doubt you'll be able to even scratch my forehead protector," he added with a mocking laugh.

"What? I don't understand why you're doing this!" Naruto said completely confused. "If we're equals, if we're friends, then why are you fighting me?"

"The only way to get stronger is to break the bonds," Sasuke said. "By breaking our friendship, I will be able to get the power I need to fulfill my destiny!" Sasuke's Sharingan grew another black symbol. Now there were three all together.

_His eyes are like Kakashi-sensei's,_ Naruto thought. _He's becoming more powerful._

"Once more," Sasuke said as his curse spread further across his body.

_A cave!_ Sora thought in relief and found the energy to jog towards it. She didn't exactly remember where this cave was in the scope of the area, but she didn't care at the moment. All this meant now was that she could sleep.

Sasuke crawled back on to the shore panting. He was sure that he had killed Naruto. No one could've survived his brutal attacks with his new found power. He stood up with a feeling of guilt but satisfaction.

"Sasuke…" a shaky voice called to him.

Sasuke whipped around in shock. "It can't be," he whispered.

The fox demon had almost completely taken over now. What Sasuke saw was nothing like the Naruto he had been fighting earlier. Power dripped from his fangs and claws, and the nine Chakra tails swished behind him.

_I've got to use level 2._ Sasuke allowed the curse to completely cover his body. He felt another surge of power flow into him but he also felt his body transform.

Naruto pulled his hands back to his side and formed a Chakra ball without the use of seals. Then he thrusted his hands forward and his Chakra came rushing towards Sasuke.

As Sasuke was thrown backwards to the other side of the waterfall, he covered himself with his…wing?

Once the dust settled, Naruto saw that Sasuke was nowhere to be seen but that a huge, disfigured hand was covering something.

Then Sasuke stood up. His wing uncovered him. Naruto's attack had done nothing to him, but his curse completely changed him. His hair was grayish and long and his skin was also a dark shade of gray. Now both of his eyes were yellow and snake-like. Then another wing grew out of his shoulder blade. His transformation was complete. "Do you know what this place is called?" he asked Naruto.

Naruto said nothing knowing full well what it was called.

"The Valley of the End," Sasuke said knowing that Naruto knew. "Fitting, because now it's time to end this battle." Sasuke held out his hand and once more formed the Chidori in his palm. It was his third one that day but because of his new power, that restriction was gone.

Naruto also held out his hand and without the use of a clone, he began gathering his Chakra into his hand for a final Rasengan.

The two boys leaped towards each other from either side of the waterfall with their attacks glowing an electric black and a fiery red. The two techniques connected and a huge explosion shook the valley. The Chakra from both of the boys combined into one and engulfed them, suspending them in mid air. Sasuke forced one final attack into Naruto's chest but Naruto managed to put a deep scratch through Sasuke's forehead protector. The Chakra dome expanded until it blocked the entire flow of water from the waterfall to the lake.

Sora gasped as her eyes shot open once again interrupting her sleep. She felt a chill sweep down her spine, and as she let out her breath, it was filled with icy crystals. "What happened?" she wondered out loud. She looked around her and saw that she was still alone. But something had shaken her very soul. What was it?

_No, just calm down,_ she told herself. _It wasn't anything. You need your rest._

But no matter how hard she tried to fall asleep again, that feeling lingered in her body making it impossible. So she got up and went to the mouth of the cave. It was still raining like there was no tomorrow.

Sasuke stood over an unconscious Naruto. A ray of sunlight highlighted Naruto's face but faded quickly. But then Sasuke's forehead protector fell to the ground beside Naruto's body. The sky opened up and it started to rain. A pain shot through Sasuke's arm and he fell to his knees and coughed up blood. "What am I doing?" he said once he was able to speak. He stared straight down at Naruto's face. It was back to normal. No pointed eyes or fanged teeth. Just Naruto.

The temptation was strong to kill Naruto completely and gain his Mangekyou (Kaleidoscope) Sharingan like his brother. "No, I…" Sasuke pushed himself to his feet again. "I'll do this my own way." Leaving his scratched forehead protector, he turned from Naruto and began to stumble off towards where he knew Orochimaru was waiting for him.

Suddenly a realization came over Sora. "It must be them," she whispered out loud. Somehow, she knew that they had finished a fight. To the death? She didn't know, but now she realized that the chill that had come over her earlier was the force of their attacks colliding. It was a power much stronger than she had ever witnessed before. Even stronger than her own…

That got her back to her senses. _If they've become so powerful, then maybe they might be able to find me._ The fear of being found completely took over her mind. _I can't let them!_ She ran back into the cave and gathered her things. She didn't care that she was tired and that it was raining. All she wanted was to get as far away from Konoha as possible. She needed to reach her village at all costs.

Kakashi came back from his mission that he was supposed to have gone on the day before, and he immediately went to the Hokage's office where he learned that they had sent a team of Genins, including Naruto, to go after Sasuke.

"WHAT?" Kakashi almost shouted at Tsunade.

"We had no one else available," the blonde woman explained calmly.

"Naruto and Sasuke could kill each other!" Kakashi slammed his hands on her desk causing the numerous unread, unsigned papers to jump. "How long ago did they leave?"

"Late morning," Shizune answered quietly.

Kakashi immediately turned around and headed for the door.

"Kakashi," Tsunade said standing up. "You don't have to worry."

Kakashi was about to retort but held his tongue.

"We have an alliance with the Sand now. I sent Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari after them," Tsunade explained. "They should be able to manage."

Kakashi then turned to face Tsunade. "I must still request to go after them," he said with a small bow.

"Yes, that's a good idea."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Kakashi said and left.

As he ran to find the Genin team with his faithful tracking dog, Pakkun, they came across an unconscious Chouji and a dead Sound Nin. Chouji had lost his chubbiness and Kakashi knew that he had taken the red pill that his family had created to give them unimaginable power.

"He's not going to last much longer," Pakkun said.

"I know," Kakashi replied. He called another one of his dogs and sent him back to the village to get help. There was no sign of any of the others. Then Kakashi quickly poured some of his Chakra into Chouji for temporary help.

_This is bad,_ he thought. _Chouji just barely made it out alive. The others might not have._ He made sure that Chouji would be able to last by himself until others came, but he had no time to linger. He once again took off.

After running a bit more, Pakkun suddenly spoke. "There's been another fight here."

Kakashi looked around at the broken spider-web strands hanging everywhere. He also saw a bunch of rotting spider bodies on the ground that looked like they had been cut in two. "It was Neji," he said.

"Mm," Pakkun nodded. "He's over there." Pakkun leaped off into the bushes.

Kakashi followed and he found Neji on the ground with a huge arrow stuck through his shoulder. He was bleeding badly. "Dammit," Kakashi said as he poured more of his Chakra into Neji's body. "This mission was too dangerous for them."

"Well, he did kill the Sound Nin," Pakkun pointed out.

"That doesn't matter if it costs their lives," Kakashi said. Then he called another dog and sent him back to the village for help.

"We need to get going," Pakkun said. "I think that the others are much further ahead."

The two began running again and they soon came across an area where a huge explosion had taken place. Kakashi quickly put out the lingering fires around the area. "Is there a Genin anywhere?" he asked Pakkun.

The dog shook his head. "No," he said. "Not here, but Kiba and Akamaru went over the cliff and down stream. They were helped by Kankuro so they should be fine."

"Ok," Kakashi said. "Perhaps Hokage-sama was right to think that the Sand Genins could help."

After a while, they saw that an entire area of trees had been cut down leaving a huge mess of trunks and branches everywhere.

"Temari and Shikamaru were here, but they left unharmed for the most part," Pakkun announced. "The Sound Nin is dead."

Kakashi nodded his head and they continued to move forward.

Then a clearing appeared and the two found that it was covered in desert sand. "Gaara," Kakashi said as they landed on the field.

Pakkun nodded. "And Lee was here as well." Then thunder boomed across the sky. "It's going to rain soon. We should hurry before the scent is washed away."

"Right," Kakashi said. The two left the area and continued their search for the final two Genins.

Just before it began to rain, Pakkun announced that Naruto and Sasuke were in the Valley of the End. Then the rain came down washing out any scent of the two boys. "Hopefully they didn't go anywhere else," Pakkun said dryly.

Then finally, they saw the valley. The statues on either side of the waterfall had huge sections that looked like they had been knocked off and the cliffs held multiple holes. It was pretty dark so neither could see very well, so they split up and searched the area. Soon Pakkun barked at his master signaling to him that he had found someone. Kakashi rushed over to where his dog was and saw Naruto on the ground unconscious. He wasn't bleeding anywhere but old blood that was being washed away by the rain still stained his clothes.

"I knew this would happen," Kakashi said and picked up Naruto. "Isn't there any way to find out where Sasuke is now?"

Pakkun shook his head slowly. "I'm sorry, Kakashi," he said. "The rain has completely washed out any trace of Sasuke's scent. Then the little dog picked up Sasuke's fallen forehead protector in his mouth.

Kakashi closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of frustration. "I should have known better," he said more to himself than to Pakkun.

Pakkun placed the forehead protector inside of Kakashi's leg pouch. "There was nothing you could've done," he said.

Kakashi chose to ignore his dog's comment. "We should return back to the village ," he said. "Hokage-sama should know about this."

Once back at the village, Kakashi took Naruto to the hospital which was already busy with the other Genins. Naruto was immediately taken into the emergency room so Kakashi went over to the receptionist to ask about the other boys.

"Did they all get here?" he asked.

"Well, we've received Akimichi Chouji, Hyuuga Neji, Inuzuka Kiba and Akamaru, Nara Shikamaru, Rock Lee, and the Sand Genins but those three are fine," she replied.

"Uzumaki Naruto is also in right now," Kakashi informed her.

"Oh," the receptionist said. Then just at that moment, another hospital worker handed her a file. "Oh, yes, this is Uzumaki's file here. Thank you."

Kakashi nodded and turned to leave the hospital. _So, they're all alive at least,_ he thought gloomily. Then he left the building to inform the Hokage what had happened.

Sora stumbled through the underbrush of the forest desperately looking for a familiar land mark. She had run blindly into the deepest part of the forest and now she couldn't find her way out. _No, this can't be happening!_ she thought. _How could I have lost my way?_

Then suddenly, she saw something that looked vaguely familiar. She gasped and ran towards it. Yes, it was the stone that pointed towards the safest path up the mountain. New hope fluttered in her heart as new strength poured in her body. The rain didn't seem to bother her at all anymore. _I won't stop until I reach my village,_ she promised herself. _I can't be safe until I do._

"So they're all back and alive?" Tsunade asked a weary-looking Kakashi.

"Yes," Kakashi said with a nod.

"But they failed to bring Sasuke with them," the Hokage added with a thoughtful look.

Kakashi nodded again and looked down.

"Well, I guess this is not an immediate danger to us," she said and got up. She walked over to the wall made of windows and looked out over Konoha. The rain made everything look dank and gloomy.

"Immediate, Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked looking at her a bit confused.

"Orochimaru needs to wait three more years now in order to transfer his soul to the Uchiha's body," Tsunade explained. "The time had already passed when he could have transferred into another body before Sasuke got to him."

"So, that means that Orochimaru will have to keep Sasuke alive and unharmed for the next three years," Kakashi said.

"Yes," Tsunade answered.

Kakashi thought about the new information for a while in silence.

"Kakashi," Tsunade said and turned around.

"Hokage-sama?"

She sighed heavily and sat back down in her chair. "I hate to bring you more bad news, but…"

Kakashi's eyes widened. He couldn't think of anything else that could possibly go wrong that day.

"Your other student, Sora," Tsunade started.

Kakashi's heart leaped to his throat. "Yes?" he asked in anticipation.

"Her landlord reported that she left during the night as well."

His heart stopped for a second and he was speechless.

_I knew he wouldn't take this well,_ Tsunade thought and she let out a sigh. "She left her payment on the table of her apartment but nothing else. I'm not sure how she would be able to carry all of her things with her for long, though."

"Hokage-sama, I must find her," Kakashi said breathlessly.

"Kakashi, I didn't tell you this so that you can abandon your duties! What about your other missions? Eh? You've got a responsibility to fulfill. We're not only in a social crisis right now but political and economical ones as well. The missions assigned to you must be carried out!"

Kakashi remained silent and turned to leave.

Tsunade studied the white-haired Jounin as he walked stiffly to the door of her office. She sighed heavily. "Kakashi," she called.

He stopped and turned around respectfully waiting to see what she wanted.

"I'm sorry, but we have no information on where she is or where she intended to go. For all we know, she could be in any number of countries by now."

"But I should still try to find her," he said.

Tsunade shook her head. "No, I can't let you do that now," she said. "You are one of our top Jounins in the village. We don't have enough people to compensate if we lost you."

"But-"

"But I will see if I can spare others to gather information on her," Tsunade interrupted.

Kakashi didn't look satisfied.

"Listen," Tsunade said. "Once things begin to settle down around here, then you may look for her, but only after Konoha gets back on its feet. All right?"

He didn't like it but he knew that he had to obey the Hokage. He nodded silently and then exited the room.

Tsunade leaned back in her seat and put a hand to her head.

"Tsunade-sama?" Shizune said quietly as she entered the room. She was holding a cup of steaming tea in her hands.

"What?"

Shizune placed the tea on her table. She had heard the discussion between Kakashi and Tsunade from out in the hall so she knew that Sora was missing. "I will try to find information on Sora," she said quietly.

Tsunade opened her eyes. "Shizune?" she said. She was surprised to see that Shizune knew about Sora.

"I was in the hallway when Kakashi-sensei was here," she explained. "If he cannot go to find her, I volunteer."

"Do you even have the slightest idea of where to start?" Tsunade asked not meaning to sound sarcastic. She took a sip of the tea.

Shizune knew Tsunade too well to be offended. "I suspect that she went back to her home village."

Tsunade paused in mid-swallow. "Hm," she thought out loud. Then she finished her swallow. "That seems logical, but where do you think she's from?"

"Her last name is Kousetsu, or at least, that's what she goes by here," Shizune explained. "I'm guessing that she came from a small hidden village in the mountains where it snows most of the year."

"It could be," Tsunade said. "Yes, that makes sense."

"I could also ask Kakashi-sensei and Jiraiya-sensei if they know any more about her," Shizune said.

"Don't bring it up with Kakashi," Tsunade said shaking her head. "He might insist on going with you."

"Fine," Shizune said. "I'll start tomorrow when the storm passes."

"All right."

"Goodnight, Tsunade-sama." Shizune left the office and closed the door behind her.

Tsunade set the cup of tea down on the desk and put her hand under her chin. _Jiraiya might know something since he was the last to talk with Sarutobi-sensei,_ she thought. _But I'm not even sure if he's still here or not._ She finally shook her head to get her thoughts back to reading the papers. "Ah, the papers never end," she said to herself.


	15. Part XV: My Village

Part XV: My Village

"Mmm…" Naruto mumbled as he slowly stirred himself awake. He didn't want to wake up but he felt someone holding his hand, or at least he felt some sort of pressure on his hand through some cloth. He opened his eyes but saw darkness._ What the-?_ "Sora?" he asked while he attempted to move his hand to grasp hers. He couldn't move his fingers.

"N-no, uh, I'm s-sorry, Naruto-k-kun," a timid, female voice said.

Naruto felt the pressure from his hand be removed. _I don't recognize…hm…_ "Then who are you?" he asked. "And where am I?"

"Um, we're i-in the Konoha h-hospital, a-and I-I'm H-hinata," the voice stammered nervously.

"Hinata-chan?" Naruto said. _Duh!_ he mentally kicked himself. "Oh, sorry, I guess I've been sort of out of it, huh?" He laughed a little foolishly.

Hinata swallowed hard and blushed a deep red. Luckily the bandages over Naruto's eyes kept him from seeing her. "Yes," she said softly. "You've been unconscious for three days."

"WHAT?" Naruto shouted and started moving frantically so that he could sit up and tear the bandage over his eyes off.

"N-no, Naruto-kun!" Hinata said and held him still. "Y-you're not well enough to get up! The nurse told me i-if you woke up to not let you get out of bed!"

"But-but where's Sasuke?" he almost gasped.

"He's gone."

Naruto stopped struggling and became still.

"I'm sorry."

_No, he…he didn't come back? Then how'd I get here? But wait, he didn't kill me like I thought he was going to…but I don't understand why he would kill me if I was his best friend? ACK! I'm so confused!_ "Hinata-chan," he said in a calm voice.

"Y-yes, Naruto-kun?"

"Is it all right if you take the bandage off my eyes?"

"Uh…" She turned her head towards the closed door almost as if she was expecting a nurse to come in at that moment and tell her if it was ok or not. "I-I don't know…"

"Please, Hinata-chan," Naruto pleaded.

Hinata glanced back towards the door one more time, but then she shakily lifted his head and unwrapped the bandage that covered his eyes. A few seconds later, she pulled the bandage from off of his head and placed it on the table next to her.

Naruto waited a moment before he actually opened his eyes. He had the sense to think that the light might be blinding. Then he opened his eyes slowly. Sure enough, it was basically the middle of the day and the window curtains were wide open. He quickly shut them again.

"A-are you f-feeling well, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked in a tiny, high-pitched voice.

Naruto opened his eyes once more and was able to stand the light somewhat better. He turned his head stiffly towards Hinata and let his vision focus. Her face formed out of the blur he saw and soon his eyes were adjusted. "I'm fine, Hinata-chan, thank you," he said softly. "I just can't believe I didn't bring him back."

"Please don't be hard on yourself," she said quickly.

Naruto sighed and turned his head back to a neutral position. He stared hard at the ceiling, and for a while nobody spoke. Outside, the two Genins could hear the villagers in the streets constructing, buying, selling…life seemed to just go on normally without a thought to what had happened three days ago.

"Hinata?" Naruto finally broke the silence.

"Yes?"

"Did…did the others…make it back too?"

"Yes," Hinata nodded. "They're all doing very well now. You're the last one to regain consciousness."

"Oh," Naruto said and continued staring at the ceiling. Then a funny thought came to him and he snickered out a laugh.

"Uh, Naruto-kun?"

"Hehe, sorry, Hinata," Naruto said calming himself but he still had a broad smile across his face. "I was just thinking that I probably look like some half-dead mummy now, don't I?"

Hinata blushed and looked down. "No, you look good," she barely murmured.

Then the door burst open with a loud thwack causing both of the Genins in the room to jump, except Naruto couldn't really move.

"Oh, geez, sorry there Hinata-chan!" Kiba said upon noticing that he and the others with him had scared her.

"Kiba-kun!" Hinata gasped.

"I told you not to rush in there!" Shikamaru said with annoyance in his voice.

The familiar sound of chomping potato chips followed into the room and then, "Neji-nii-san," Hinata said and bowed slightly to her older cousin.

"Hinata-sama," Neji said in return.

"So how's he doing?" Kiba asked walking over to the bed.

"I'm awake, you know," Naruto said frowning.

"Dude! He's awake you guys!" Kiba said in surprise.

"Obviously…" Shikamaru muttered and came over to Naruto's bedside as well. "So, how're you feeling?" he asked in a nicer tone.

"Uh, fine, I guess," Naruto answered. "Considering…"

"Yeah, but you should've seen yourself a few days ago," Kiba commented. "Man, you looked like a mummy!"

"Kiba-kun!" Hinata scolded.

"Hehe, it's true."

"Uh, guys?" Naruto said.

"Yeah?" Shikamaru replied.

"I can't exactly move so am I still wrapped in bandages?" he asked.

"Well, not as many as before," Shikamaru said. "I think it's just because you're still recovering from the massive amount of Chakra you lost during your fight."

"Oh…"

"But the Hokage said that you should be back on your feet by tomorrow," Kiba added helpfully.

"That's good," Naruto said. "But, you guys are all ok?"

They all replied in the affirmative.

"Even Chouji's back to his normal size now," Kiba joked.

"And damn proud of it!" Chouji said stuffing more chips in his mouth.

"Excuse me," a woman's voice interrupted their little reunion.

The boys and Hinata looked towards the door. It was a nurse.

"Um, I'm guessing he's awake," she said and entered the room pushing a small cart in front of her.

"Yes, he is," Shikamaru answered.

The nurse got to Naruto's bedside and took a good look at him. "Well, I don't see anything wrong with taking off the rest of his bandages," she said. "If you gentlemen and lady would excuse us."

"Oh," Hinata said and nodded. "Of course." She and the other boys exited the room closing the door behind them.

"Did you tell him?" Shikamaru asked Hinata.

She shook her head. "No, I…" she trailed off. "I was going to, but then…the first thing he said when he woke up…was her name."

Shikamaru sighed heavily. "He's not going to take it well."

"None of us have," Kiba said with a frown. "And it doesn't look like the Hokage's doing anything about it."

The group fell silent for a while until Hinata spoke again. "Perhaps we should let the Hokage tell Naruto about her," she said softly.

"Good idea," Shikamaru agreed. "I'll go tell her that he's awake." He walked down the hallway leaving the rest of his group behind.

"I'm not so sure if the Hokage would be the best person to tell him," Kiba commented. "I mean, not only has she not done anything about it, she wouldn't let anyone go look for her."

"Sh-she must have her reasons," Hinata said quietly.

"I can't think of any good ones," Kiba grunted.

The door opened and the Genins saw the nurse come out with a pile of bandages on her cart. "He's all unwrapped now," she said brightly.

"Thank you," Hinata said and bowed politely.

The nurse nodded and pushed her cart down the hallway.

The group turned back towards the door of Naruto's room and saw him standing right in the doorway.

"I am so ready to get out of here," Naruto said stretching his arms out in front of him. "You won't believe how stiff I am."

"I don't think it's such a good idea for you to leave just yet," Neji said.

"What? I don't want to stay here! And I feel fine!" Naruto insisted.

"Neji-nii-san is right, Naruto-kun," Hinata said quickly. "The Hokage specifically said to keep you in the hospital until tomorrow."

"Since when did I ever listen to her?" Naruto asked with a cheeky smile.

"He's got a point," Kiba said smirking.

"It's not like she can do anything to m-"

"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you," Tsunade's voice interrupted him.

"AIYEEE!" Naruto screamed and stumbled backwards in fright. Out of nowhere, Tsunade had appeared right in front of him in a puff of smoke.

"Hokage-sama!" Hinata gasped and immediately bowed her head.

"If you four could excuse us, I need to talk to Naruto in private," the Sannin said.

"Of course," they said simultaneously and began to sidestep away from Tsunade and Naruto. They saw her drag him back into the room and shut the door.

"I almost feel sorry for him," Neji said dryly.

"Yeah, almost," Kiba added with a laugh.

_Naruto-kun…_Hinata thought worriedly. _I hope the Hokage doesn't do anything drastic._

"Sit down, Naruto," Tsunade instructed.

"What's this about now, Granny?" he asked in a bored manner without sitting down.

Tsunade frowned but held her temper. "First of all, I'm not your granny. Secondly, you should always listen to your Hokage, and if you haven't, you'd better start now. Thirdly, I have something very important to tell you so if you would shut up and-"

"Is it about Sasuke?" Naruto asked frantically.

"Eh-hem, no." Tsunade pushed him forcefully to a sitting position on the bed.

Naruto frowned back at Tsunade.

"It's about your other teammate."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "What, Sora?" he asked. "Oh, yeah, come to think of it, I haven't seen her at all for-"

"Naruto please keep your mouth shut," Tsunade said and rubbed her temples. "Now, I don't want you running around the village today at least, so I'm going to order you to stay here until tomorrow and then you are to directly report to me. Is that understood?"

Naruto nodded his head with reluctance but kept himself quiet.

"Now," Tsunade continued. "Sora left Konoha the same night that Sasuke left, but-"

"WHAT?" He jumped to his feet only to be forced back down by the extremely strong and annoyed woman in front of him.

"I have sent someone to investigate the matter, and I'm only telling you this because I don't want you to go after her in your condition."

"I don't give a damn about my condition! I have to find her!" Naruto shouted and got up again.

Tsunade pushed him back down. "I_ forbid_ you to go after her!" she commanded in a loud, authoritative voice. "And you will obey!"

"Like hell I will!"

"Like hell, you will!" Tsunade growled. "We can either do this the easy way or the hard way. I could have you secured in the hospital with someone watching you 24/7, or I could let you continue your duty as a Konoha ninja. Do you understand me?"

Naruto clenched his teeth and fists and looked down. "I understand," he forced himself to say through his teeth.

Tsunade stared hard at the boy in front of her. "Good," she finally said and then turned to leave. She opened the door and stepped out into the hall but then turned back around. "Naruto," she said in a much kinder tone.

Naruto didn't look up or answer.

Tsunade sighed. "You have to understand," she said gently. "I'm doing this for your own good."

Naruto narrowed his eyes and still refused to look up.

She sighed again and closed the door.

"I'll be watching him," a man's voice said to her in the hallway.

"Hm, and when did you get here?" she asked without looking to see who it was. She already knew he had been there waiting for her.

"This morning," the man replied. He walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're doing the right thing, Tsunade."

"Am I?" she asked flatly and looked up. "I don't know if I'm really cut out to be Hokage."

"If there was anyone Sensei would have chosen to succeed him, it would've been you," Jiraiya said.

"I don't know," Tsunade said and looked back down. "But did you talk to Shizune today?" she asked changing the subject somewhat.

"I did," the frog tamer said nodding his head. "So you're sending her after Sora, are you?"

"Yeah, well, she volunteered," Tsunade said. "And with her gone, I'll have to face all those papers alone…"

"Haha," Jiraiya said dryly. "But anyway, I told her everything that Sensei told me about Sora, and I think it's important for you to know as well."

"Hm. Well, let's go to my office so there'll be no interruptions."

Jiraiya nodded. Then he did a quick summoning jutsu and the tiniest frog appeared. "Keep an eye on Naruto in there, ok?"

"Yes, sir!" the miniature amphibian squeaked. He hopped out of Jiraiya's hand onto the floor and then squirmed under the door with a tiny pop.

"All right, let's go," Jiraiya said. Then the two Sannin started for Tsunade's office.

Running…running…it was nothing but running for three days. No food or rest, she didn't feel the need for it. There was no stopping her until she reached her destination. _Snow. _ She was close.

"Do you remember the myth about the fallen Angel?" Jiraiya asked Tsunade once they were in her office, safe from any interruptions.

"Yes, I remember it quite well."

"What if it was all true?"

Tsunade looked at her longtime friend and teammate. She couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

"I know you're a skeptic of ancient legends such as this," Jiraiya said noticing her odd look. "But based on what Sarutobi-sensei told me before he died, this girl could very well likely be _her_."

"But it _is_ a myth," Tsunade said sitting down at her desk. "There's no physical evidence that supports it."

"There is."

Tsunade looked hard into Jiraiya's eyes. He was definitely not joking.

Finally she stopped running. She had arrived. The shambles of her village were covered in a layer of snow that was being added to by the second. Her red eyes scanned the area. Everything was exactly how she remembered it. No one had been here since she'd left.

Taking a deep breath, she began to walk through the empty, disordered streets. The images flooded back into her memory. Painful images, of fire, suffering, and death… She walked by the village market. It was once alive with people selling and buying, laughing, talking…just enjoying life. Now there was no one but her. The charred wood that once held foods and trinkets of all kinds was now scattered messily on the ground covered by snow. She walked on.

"It is said that the scrolls that hold the history of that time were taken to be sealed in a hidden village high in the mountains, almost impossible to find without already knowing the way."

"Hm, sounds familiar…" Tsunade said slightly sarcastically.

"Just hear me out," Jiraiya said. "The words of the Angel that were recorded on those scrolls were too powerful to be put in another place. The curse could only be held in those scrolls if they were put in that village, where it snows most and sometimes all of the year."

"Kousetsu?"

Jiraiya nodded. "Exactly."

Too many painful memories came screaming back into her mind again. She turned from the broken, battered buildings and started towards the center of the village where she had once lived. She kept her eyes down so she wouldn't have to look at her surroundings which were already imprinted in her mind. Her walk broke into a run. She needed to find him. She needed to find her father.

"Some say that the very soul of that Angel is kept in the scrolls. If that is indeed true, they should be kept closed at all costs. It would be disastrous for anyone, let alone the Angel herself, to open them."

"And you're saying that Sora is this Angel?" Tsunade asked still not sure whether she believed what Jiraiya was saying.

The white-haired Sannin nodded. "At least, that's what Sarutobi-sensei concluded."

She ran towards the shamble that she once called home. Only when she reached the front gate did she slow to a walk. Her body was physically weak from the lack of food and rest. She was unhealthily thin and pale, and the skin under her eyes sagged, but yet she didn't feel tired. Something kept her going. It felt like with every step she took towards the center of her village, she seemed to get stronger.

She opened the door slowly, trying not to disturb the fragile beams that held up what was left of the house. It was dangerous for her to be inside the house since it could fall at any moment, but she didn't think about that.

Most of the walls were knocked out or burned down. It was incredible that the house still stood. Sifting through the broken beams, she searched every nook and cranny for the body of her father. And finally, she found what she was looking for.

"So what do you propose we do about this?" Tsunade asked getting more exasperated by the minute. "If what you say is true, then this could open up another 'dark era' for, well, everyone!"

"Please calm down," Jiraiya said stoutly. He closed his eyes to think. "Even though Konoha is in a crisis right now, I think the best thing to do is to try and get a few ninjas together to go to this village and get the scrolls before Sora finds them."

"Do you have any idea _where _her village is?" Tsunade huffed. "Shizune's going out there to find it, _blindly_! And she's going to return to the village in two weeks regardless of what she finds. I doubt that she'll come back with anything!"

Jiraiya opened his eyes. "I agree," he said. "This means that others should be sent out to look as well."

"Did you not just say a few seconds ago that Konoha is in a _crisis_?" Tsunade almost yelled. "The reason I let Shizune go is because, one, she volunteered, and two, because I don't have anyone else qualified to go on a dangerous mission like that!"

"Tsunade-"

"AND, I've got Orochimaru to worry about on top of everything!"

"Well, he's not going to strike until he's gotten his slimy soul into Sasuke's body."

"But all the same, we don't want him to get his slimy soul into Sasuke's body in the first place. And I'm going to have to keep Naruto and his buddies under control to not run off to look for either of them during their missions!"

"Don't think too little of Naruto and the other Genins," Jiraiya said. "They're all very loyal to Konoha and-"

"But," Tsunade interrupted, "_if _what you say is true about Sora, then the damage might already be done. How powerful do you estimate the Angel is now?"

"Hm," Jiraiya contemplated thoughtfully. "I would say that she's beginning to be powerful enough to take over Sora's mind, that's for sure. Through the circumstances…"

"What circumstances?"

Jiraiya sighed and ran a hand through his long, spiky hair. "From what I've seen, one of the main reasons why Sasuke and Naruto fight so much is because of her. The legend ties the Angel with the Uchiha clan and the Fox demon."

"This is just great."

"Come on, Tsunade," Jiraiya said. "We have to think through this clearly."

His body was almost perfectly preserved since it snowed most or sometimes all of the year in the village. She didn't shed any tears. It was too late for that. She had to right her wrongs. There was no time for remorse.

She picked up the frozen body and placed it on the snow-covered ground outside. Then, by using some of the scattered beams, she destroyed the remaining structures of the house. It soon came crashing to the ground causing puffs of snow and particles to rise into the air and then settle back down. She took the dryer pieces of wood and tied them in a bundle with the wire she had brought with her in her weapons pouch. She carried the wood over to the temple that was only a short walk away from the house.

Stone and wood were scattered across the courtyard. The pillars and stairs leading up to the temple had huge chunks missing from them. Everything was in decay.

Soon, she found what she was looking for. It was covered by some debris, but she soon removed that. The stone altar still stood completely intact.

"So, you want me to send you and Naruto off to find her?" Tsunade asked incredulously while emphasizing each pronoun by pointing her finger back and forth between Jiraiya and herself.

The frog tamer nodded. "If no one else is available, that is exactly what I want you to do."

Tsunade laughed. "And I just told him that I forbade him to look for her."

"Well, it was a good thing you did," Jiraiya said surprising Tsunade. "If you didn't, he would've run off to look for her by himself."

"Hm…"

"And if he's with me, I can still watch over him like I said back at the hospital."

"I guess…"

"Also, I hate to bring this up, but while I was outside of Konoha, I heard rumors that the Akatsuki group is still on the move."

"Great, another thing to worry about…"

"But listen to my point," Jiraiya said quickly. He leaned in. "If I take Naruto with me to look for Sora, the Akatsuki won't know where he'll be or where he's going. It's a win-win situation." He smiled cheekily at his brilliant thinking.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow and sweat dropped. "Uh-huh."

"And," Jiraiya said enthusiastically, "this will also keep him out of your hair and out of Orochimaru's affairs! Everything will be just as you want it and more!"

"You've really thought through this, haven't you?"

"Ehehe…yeah."

Tsunade pushed her chair back from her desk and swiveled it around so that she could look out the wall made of windows. The sunlight fell down across the village making it look bright and cheery when really, Tsunade knew it was far from being either.

"What d'you say?" Jiraiya said coming up behind her.

The blonde Sannin sighed heavily and looked up at her long-time teammate and friend. "Go ahead," she said with a tired but approving nod.

"I knew you'd like my idea," Jiraiya said wagging his finger in her face.

"I will be very tempted to break that finger of yours very soon if you don't remove it from in front of my face."

Jiraiya laughed but took his finger away nonetheless. "All right then," he said and began walking for the door of Tsunade's office. "Naruto and I will see you before we go tomorrow."

Tsunade nodded and Jiraiya disappeared into the hall. _I hope he's right about everything,_ she thought. _I still feel uncomfortable about sending Naruto out after his fight with Sasuke. Even if his physical wounds heal, the level that the Fox was able to take over him was alarming. If something were to happen…_ Tsunade shook her head. _No, I should have faith in Jiraiya. He did teach the Fourth, after all._

She placed the body of her beloved father on the altar. The village had a tradition that their leaders' fallen souls would be respected if the village offered up their bodies on the altar to the heavens. To leave dead bodies without paying the proper respects to them would mean that theirs souls would not be able to enter heaven or hell, a sort of cruel purgatory that they didn't deserve. At the time, she had been too scared to give those respects to anyone in the village. She had left them in their purgatories for so long…

She went inside the temple and brought back a torch that had long gone out, but the oils inside of it were still useful. She lit it with flint and stone and then threw it onto the altar. The fire was small at first but soon became a roaring blaze. She stared into the flames for a moment but then snapped out of her dream. There were so many other souls still lost because of her.

Jiraiya went back to the hospital and straight to Naruto's room. He heard nothing as he stood outside his door in the hall. He frowned and then opened the door slowly, slightly doubting that Naruto had actually stayed. To his great surprise, Naruto was sitting in front of the window leaning on his elbows. Jiraiya chuckled slightly causing Naruto to turn his head to see who had entered.

"Oh, it's you," he said flatly.

"What? Not happy to see your sensei?" Jiraiya asked feigning hurt.

Normally, Naruto would've jumped up and apologized a million times, but he was too busy groping in his depression of failing to bring Sasuke back and losing Sora all in three days. He turned his head back around and resumed staring blankly out the hospital window.

Jiraiya frowned again. "Naruto," he said. "I know that you're frustrated, but I do have some good news."

Naruto immediately jumped to his feet, knocking over his chair. "What? Quick, tell me!" he demanded.

"Now, don't be so jumpy," Jiraiya said sternly. "You are still in recovery."

Naruto bit his tongue to keep himself from speaking.

"Better," Jiraiya said. "Ok, well, I talked with the Hokage and convinced her that it would be best if you didn't go after Sasuke again."

"What?" Naruto said shocked. "I thought you said you had good news!"

"Eh-hem," Jiraiya said and folded his hands across his chest. "I wasn't finished."

"Sorry."

"Hm, so, I then convinced her that you should come with me to research where Sora's village might-"

"Are you serious? She just told me that I was forbidden to look for her!" Naruto shouted. "Then we've gotta leave right away!" He started for the door only to be caught by the back of his shirt by the calm but annoyed Sannin.

"Not today, Naruto," he said and pulled Naruto back in front of him in one fluid motion. "Now, listen to all of what I have to say before you do anything."

The sun was setting and she had not even buried a fourth of the villagers. Almost every single victim had been in some sort of contorted position. Others had been crushed under the toppled walls and roofs of fallen buildings. Still others, she could not even find.

Looking towards the sky, she knew that she wouldn't be able to see what she was doing once the last of the sun's rays disappeared. She stopped her work and stood for a moment thinking. She needed a place to stay for the night since she'd probably freeze if she slept outside. And she needed sleep. The only building that was sure not to fall at any moment since it was mostly made of stone was the temple.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning, all right?" Jiraiya said after briefing Naruto on the situation.

"Right."

"And I expect you to be in top notch condition."

Naruto grunted.

"Meaning, I want you to stay in this room until I, no one else, _I _come and get you. Understood?"

"Fine."

"Good." Jiraiya turned to leave when the tiny frog that he had summoned to watch Naruto crawled up to his shoulder right below his ear.

"You know that there's someone outside in the hall listening," he squeaked so that only Jiraiya could hear.

"What?" Jiraiya whispered.

"Huh? Did you say something?" Naruto asked coming over to him. He didn't notice the frog.

"Eh-herm." Jiraiya cleared his throat. "Stay right there," he said quietly.

"Uh…?"

Jiraiya put a finger to his mouth signaling Naruto to be quiet. Then he crept over to the door without making a sound.

Naruto stared at the white-haired man with confusion written all over his face.

Then quicker than lightening, Jiraiya swung open the door, grabbed the person standing out in the hall by the arm, threw her inside the room, and slammed the door shut again.

"AHH!" the person screamed as she was thrown directly into Naruto.

"WAH? Hinata-chan?" Naruto shouted as he and Hinata toppled to the floor. "What the hell was that for?" he shouted at his sensei.

"Hm," Jiraiya said as he straightened his shirt. "She was eavesdropping."

"I-I…" Hinata stuttered helplessly in a high-pitched voice as she clutched onto Naruto's shirt. She was almost in tears from shock and fear.

"You didn't have to throw her in here!" Naruto shouted angrily as he held Hinata in his arms.

Jiraiya shrugged and then walked over to Hinata and Naruto. "All right, all right, I'm sorry," he finally said and helped both of the Genins up. "I guess I overreacted a bit, but I did purposely throw you into Naruto so that you wouldn't get hurt by falling on the floor or anything."

Only then did Hinata notice the position she was in. She looked up at Naruto for a split second and quickly looked down again with her face a deep scarlet. Naruto hadn't let go of her yet.

Naruto snorted at his sensei. "That's still no excuse," he said. Then he looked down at Hinata. "Hey, are you ok, Hinata-chan?" he asked gently.

Hinata almost fainted but she kept her consciousness. "I-I'm fine, th-thank you," she whispered and pulled away from Naruto before she could get too caught up in the moment. She felt Naruto's arms slip off of her back causing her to shiver involuntarily.

Naruto didn't notice but Jiraiya sure did. "Hm, well, it looks like since you've probably heard everything…" he said to Hinata.

"I-uh-"

"Ah, it can't be helped, Naruto," Jiraiya purposely cut Hinata off. "I guess she'll have to come with us in order to keep from spilling the beans to anyone else."

"What?" both Naruto and Hinata asked completely shocked.

Jiraiya folded his arms across his chest and closed his eyes. "It's the only solution I can think of," he said as he nodded his head. "Tomorrow morning at six o'clock sharp, the three of us will go to the Hokage's office and then be off to find Sora's village."

"I-I-"

"Are you serious?" Naruto said. "It's gonna be dangerous! We shouldn't force her into going without even asking her if she wants to! I mean, couldn't we die on this thing?"

Hinata glanced at Naruto nervously. _Is he saying this because he cares about me or does he just not want me to go…?_

"Fine then," Jiraiya said. He turned to Hinata who quickly reverted her eyes back to the floor. "Hinata?"

"Yes, Sensei?" she barely whispered.

"In order to keep our mission a secret, it is most certainly _preferable_ if you would accompany us in our search for Sora's village. But under the circumstances, and Naruto's concern, I am going to _ask_ if you would go with us on this potentially dangerous mission."

Hinata's heart rate went up a million beats per minute. She could feel her face turn red.

"Hinata-chan? Are you feeling ok?" Naruto asked and reached out a hand to feel her forehead.

But before his hand could reach her, her head shot up. "Yes! I would like to go with you to find Sora!" she said suddenly.

Naruto brought his hand back to himself in surprise. _Whoa, if I remember right, she's usually not like this, is she?_ he thought.

Jiraiya smiled in triumph. "All right, then it's settled," Jiraiya said. "Tomorrow, Hinata and I will meet you at the Hokage's tower at 6 sharp. Don't be late!" Then Jiraiya turned to leave. He noticed that Hinata didn't follow. "Uh, Hinata?"

Hinata turned towards the Sannin and bowed politely. "Yes, Sensei?"

"I'll walk you back home," he said kindly. "I think both you and Naruto need all the rest you can get before we leave."

"Oh, of course," Hinata said and followed Jiraiya out the door.

"I still want you to stay here, ok?" Jiraiya muttered under his breath to the tiny frog on his shoulder.

"You got it, Boss," he squeaked and jumped off.

The next morning, Naruto was ready to go to the Hokage's office at 5:30. He had never been so ready to get to an appointment in his whole life, but of course, this was so he could find Sora. He couldn't be late. He wouldn't allow himself to be late.

Naruto left the hospital room, still oblivious to the fact that a small frog had latched itself onto his pant leg, and he made his way to the receptionist's desk. It was empty so he just signed himself out and left the hospital. The air was crisp since autumn had completely taken over. Naruto took a deep breath. It felt good to be back outside again. He couldn't stand to be cooped up in a small hospital room for so long. He was amazingly rid of all his soreness from the day before and he quickly ran towards the Hokage Tower where he knew the others would meet him.

Hinata checked one last time to see if she had everything she needed with her. Jiraiya had said that the mission might last from a week up to a month if they could not find anything early on. After a month, they would return home regardless. The thought of being with Naruto for a whole month made her heart jump, but she suppressed her happiness since she knew that this was a serious mission, and also the fact that Naruto liked Sora…and not her.

She sighed heavily and slipped her pack onto her shoulders. She had already told her father that she was called to go on a secret mission and that she couldn't exactly tell him what it was; only that she was going with the Legendary Sannin Jiraiya. At that, her father asked no more questions and gave his permission.

Hinata stepped outside of the Hyuuga estate and made sure to avoid her cousin's early training spot. If he saw her, then he'd ask her where she was going, and she couldn't lie. It was best if she wasn't seen by anyone, especially him, since she knew that Neji also had feelings for Sora. That made Hinata sigh again.

_I'm not jealous…_ she told herself stubbornly. But inside she knew that she had always been jealous of Sora ever since she had found out that Naruto liked her. _But Sora's my friend,_ Hinata told herself in an attempt to keep her emotions down. _It's not my place to dictate who people like…it's not my place…_ She wiped her eyes since they had become slightly wet. Then she ran toward the center of the village where the Hokage Tower stood.

"Changing your plan at the last minute, eh?" Tsunade asked with annoyance in her voice. She hadn't gone home at all that night because she was determined to make up all the papers she had slacked off on in order to ease her guilt on sending Shizune off. She had drunken almost thirty cups of tea to keep her awake, but she finished most of late papers.

"But you know my reasons, right," Jiraiya said.

Tsunade sighed. She stood up and stretched a bit and then sat back down. "I don't know if you should meddle in something like that, Jiraiya," she said and took a sip of her tea. "Messing with people's lives is not a go-"

"I'm not, as you say, 'messing' with people's lives," Jiraiya huffed. "This is also a win-win situation!"

"Do explain…"

Jiraiya cleared his throat. "If Naruto realizes that he is, in fact, not in love with Sora, then things will be much better for him and for the outcome of this might-be disaster. Also, Hinata is, without any doubt in my mind, hopelessly in love with Naruto and by doing this it would also benefit her life! AND," he said before Tsunade could retort. "Hinata's Byakugan will be extremely helpful to me on the mission."

Tsunade shook her head slowly. "You're going to screw everything up," she warned.

"I am the expert on love!" Jiraiya declared. "Have you not read my books? Screwing up is not an option for me!"

"Uh-huh…"

Knock, knock.

"Come in," Tsunade called to the door expecting it to be Hinata.

Jiraiya cleared his throat nervously hoping that whoever it was outside didn't hear his little speech.

The door opened and to both of the adults' surprise, it was Naruto. "I'm here," he said and closed the door. From the way he was acting, he hadn't heard what Jiraiya was conspiring.

"Nice of you to join us, Naruto," Tsunade said with a smug smile to Jiraiya.

Jiraiya glared back at her.

"My, aren't you here early though," she continued and glanced at the clock on the wall. It read 5:48.

"I wouldn't be late for something like this," Naruto frowned and crossed his arms. "Where's Hinata-chan?"

"Getting impatient, eh?" Tsunade said and leaned back in her chair. "We still have twelve minutes."

Naruto frowned but said nothing.

Jiraiya, now sure that Naruto hadn't heard what he had said to Tsunade earlier, put his confident smile back on.

There was total silence for a while, but each was filled with his or her own thoughts. Naruto, about the mission that was ahead of him and the hope of finding Sora. Tsunade, about how insanely tired she was and how much she was looking forward to being rid of Naruto (and Jiraiya) for possibly a whole month. Jiraiya, about ways he could try to get Naruto and Hinata together without making it seem like he was doing anything. Then there was a soft knock on the door that sounded louder than it really was since it was so quiet in the office. The three jerked to attention again.

"Come in," Tsunade called.

Sure enough, Hinata opened the door and entered the office. She looked around and saw that she was the last person to come. "I-I'm sorry to have kept you waiting," she said in a high voice and bowed nervously.

"Eh, don't worry about it," Naruto said and patted her shoulder. "It's still five till six anyway." He smiled.

Hinata tried in vain to keep her face its normal color.

Jiraiya chuckled but stopped once he saw Tsunade eyeing him dangerously.

"So," Tsunade said and looked back over to the two Genins. "Jiraiya has told me about the new addition to the group." She nodded at Hinata. "I now give you my permission to leave the village in search of Sora's village. If, by chance, you find it, you are to bring back the scrolls that are kept in the lowest floor of the temple located in the center of the village. Or so we hope." She glanced at Jiraiya who nodded with confidence. "If you do not find the village within one month, you are to return back here regardless. Understood?"

The three nodded, though Naruto did so somewhat reluctantly.

"And if you happen to run into Shizune, tell her that she is to accompany you for the remainder of your mission, and then she is to return with you to the village." Tsunade leaned back and tried to think if she was missing anything. Then she remembered. "Oh yes, and one more thing. If you find Sora, you will rely on Jiraiya's judgment whether or not to bring her back and-"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto said getting angry. "The whole point of this was to find her in the first pl-"

"This mission is for you three to bring back the scrolls!" Tsunade growled. "NOT specifically to find Sora although there is a good chance that you might."

"MIGHT?" Naruto shouted.

"If you do not find her but you do indeed find the scrolls, you are to come back here directly. If you find nothing, you are to come back here directly. Is that understood?"

"I don't believe this!"

"Naruto," Jiraiya said and placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Everything will be explained once we start our journey."

Naruto clenched his teeth but managed to keep himself silent.

_Naruto-kun…_ Hinata thought as she glanced at him. _I've never seen him this angry before. It must be because he's in love with her…_ She held back a sigh that threatened to come out.

"Is everyone clear?" Tsunade asked once Jiraiya had calmed Naruto. She looked at each of the three. Jiraiya and Hinata nodded while Naruto just stared hard at the floor. Tsunade sighed heavily. "All right, you're free to go," she said wearily and waved her hand to dismiss them.

Jiraiya and Hinata gave a quick bow and then the three left the office.

The trio walked in an awkward silence for a long time with Jiraiya leading and the two Genins following. All the while, Hinata was trying to think of something comforting to say to Naruto, but she feared that she might make him angrier.

Suddenly Jiraiya stopped walking as they neared the thicker part of the northern woods. "All right," he said breaking the heavy silence.

The Genins looked up at him.

He turned around. "This is where we must keep our eyes and ears open. It could potentially be dangerous here, but hopefully, we won't run into anyone or anything."

"Um, are you sure this is the right way to Sora's village?" Hinata asked softly as she blushed slightly from embarrassment.

"That's an excellent question," Jiraiya said attempting to lighten the mood. He smiled. "I chose this way because her village is up in some mountain somewhere. The mountains on the other side of this forest are the tallest ones known."

"I see."

"And since it's up north, it snows more there than in the southern mountain ranges."

"Oh," Hinata said nodding her head. "But how do you know so much about her village if we don't know the name or location?"

"Mm," Jiraiya said with a knowing smile. "I guess now would be the best time to explain some things."

"Like how we're not leaving until we find Sora," Naruto said suddenly.

The Sannin's smile turned into a frown. "Eh-herm, no," he said and then set his pack on the ground and sat next to it. Hinata and Naruto did the same. "Sora is not the girl you think she is," he began. "According to what I and my sensei, the Third Hokage, have seen and researched, we believe that she could be a potential threat."

"What?" Naruto said. "How can-"

"Let me explain," Jiraiya interrupted. "You kids are much too young to know about many of the ancient legends, but to make it simple, we believe that Sora could possibly be a fallen angel."

The two Genins' mouths dropped open. They were completely stunned.

"If this theory is correct, then we must, at all costs, keep those scrolls away from Sora."

Hinata found her voice first. "Wh-what would happen if she found them?" she asked in a tiny voice.

Jiraiya looked over at Hinata. His expression was absolute seriousness. "There are ancient curses written in those scrolls. I can't say for sure, but if she were to open them, the power of the curses would bring the Angel inside of Sora back to her former power."

"And what would happen to Sora?" Naruto asked.

"I'm afraid she would cease to exist."

"WHAT?" Naruto shouted and jumped up swinging his pack back over his shoulders. "We can't let that happen! We've got to go now!"

"Well," Jiraiya said and stood back up slowly. "The path through the woods is the easy part. Actually finding the entrance to the mountain pass is going to be difficult. Not to mention actually surviving the way up the pass. Then we actually have to find the village amidst the miles and miles of snow covered regions while keeping enough food with us to keep us alive for the journey there and hopefully back again. Since Sora's village was destroyed, there won't be any supplies-"

"Who cares? We just have to find her!" Naruto shouted and was about to start running when he felt someone grab his arm.

"Wait just a minute," Jiraiya said in a darker tone. He pulled Naruto back and set him down on the ground again. "Now listen to me," he said while towering over the blonde-haired boy. "The best case scenario is if we find the scrolls, they are not opened, and we still have time left. Then I will send the two of you back to the village with the scrolls and I will try to find Sora. But, if we find the scrolls and they _are_ opened, then we will take them straight back to the village and report to the Hokage. If we find the village and the temple, and the scrolls are not there, we will return to the village and report to the Hokage immediately. Understood?"

Hinata shook in fear at the voice of the Sannin but nodded her head.

Naruto glared at Jiraiya. "So this mission isn't going to let me find her, is it?" he said hotly. "It's all about these scrolls, huh? What about her? She's more important than-"

"Naruto, there comes a time when we all must choose between two very difficult situations," Jiraiya said, his voice a little softer than before. "In this case, the choice is between her one life against the lives of everyone else in the world. It is not your place to decide."

"This can't be-"

"If Sora has already become the Angel, then it is our responsibility as ninjas, to protect our world. You don't know how powerful she is, Naruto. You don't know the consequences if she were to-"

"But these are all just guesses!" Naruto shouted. "This is all _your_ guessing! You don't really know!"

Jiraiya had to agree with that. Although he was almost sure that Sora was indeed the one in the legend, he wouldn't bet his life on it. _What if Sarutobi-sensei was wrong?_ he thought as he eyed an angry Naruto. _If she is really the Angel, there's no other option than to kill her as soon as possible. But we can't do that unless we are absolutely sure she is the Angel. Otherwise, innocent blood will be shed…_ "Hm" he finally said out loud. "I suppose you're right, Naruto."

Naruto's eyes widened in shock. He hadn't expected an answer like that.

Jiraiya got up and put his pack back on his shoulders. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see when the time comes," he sighed. "You are right to remind me that I must not jump to conclusions." He walked past the two Genins as Hinata quickly got to her feet. "Well, shall we continue?" he said without turning around.

Hinata glanced at Naruto nervously. She knew that on the inside, he was angry, confused, and maybe a little scared at the thought that Sora might be so different from the girl he thought she was. On the outside, he was trying to keep calm, but it was hard. Hinata sighed and gingerly put a hand on his shoulder. "Naruto-kun, are you all right?" she asked softly.

Naruto almost jumped at her light touch. "Y-yeah," he stuttered in surprise.

Hinata could see that he really wasn't. She looked ahead and saw Jiraiya continuing to walk away from them. She started walking as well and gently guided Naruto to do the same. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked shyly.

Naruto sighed. He really wanted to get what he was thinking off his chest, but he was afraid that by doing so, he would betray Sora. Something inside of him told him that more likely than not, he would not be able bring her back to the village even if he found her. He shuddered at the thought.

"Naruto-kun?"

"Oh, uh, sorry, Hinata-chan," he said with a forced laugh.

She gave him a questioning look.

"I, well, I don't think I can talk about it right now," he finally said. He put his hands behind his head. "I have to get everything straight in my own mind first. But I'll tell you later."

"Oh, ok," Hinata said softly. The one time she had mustered up enough courage to ask Naruto to speak his mind to her, he had said no. She looked down felling incredibly discouraged.

"Hinata-chan?"

She jumped slightly at the sound of her name on his lips.

"Are you feeling ok?" Naruto asked placing a hand on her shoulder.

Hinata swallowed hard. "I-I'm fine, thank you," she said quickly and kept her eyes down.

Naruto tilted his head to the side a little and raised an eyebrow. It was so obvious that she really liked him, but he had too much on his mind, namely a certain red-head, to notice. He looked back towards the front and the two walked together in silence.

It had been a full day of nothing but searching, digging, and burying. As evening approached, the sky became dark and ominous. A blizzard was on its way. The tired, thin girl finally stopped working and stepped back to look at what she had done. Row upon row of mounds as far as she could see, under which held the bodies of lost souls. She had finished.

She looked at the sky again. The snow began to fall more heavily. She had one more task to finish but she couldn't do it in a blizzard. It would have to wait until the storm had past, meaning she would have to spend at least one more night in the stone temple. Wearily, she walked towards the center of the village going once again through the empty, decrepit streets. _At least the bodies are gone,_ she thought morbidly trying to comfort herself. Soon she stood in the temple courtyard. The stone altar still held the ashes of the village's fallen leader. The snow began to fall even harder than before. A gust of wind blew the snow on the ground and some of the ash on the altar upwards and landed some distance away tainting the perfectly white snow. She sighed heavily and went inside.

It was dark inside as the sun was quickly disappearing. She lit a fire in the center of the main hall for warmth. As she sat down on the cold stone floor next to the fire, she felt her stomach growl. She hadn't eaten in five days now. _I guess I need to keep myself alive a bit longer,_ she thought with a sigh. She got out some of the food she had taken with her from Konoha and began to thaw them out over the fire. Outside, snow was falling like a solid white sheet and the wind screamed through the cracks in the walls. The sound echoed throughout the hall making a dead, hollow sound. She brought her legs up against her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She had nothing but her thin ninja dress on. She normally wouldn't have minded the cold so much except for the fact that she didn't have Chakra anymore and her alarmingly unhealthy state was beginning to get to her.

After sitting in the stone chamber for a long time watching the fire slowly die away, her eyes caught on to something that she hadn't seen before. An inscription on the central pillar behind the pulpit began to glow mysteriously. _How'd I miss that before?_ she thought as she roused herself to get up. Her knees almost gave out underneath her, but she kept her balance. Slowly, she approached the front of the sanctuary and went up the stone stairs towards the pillar. Once she was close enough to make out the details of the inscriptions, something familiar struck her. Although she couldn't read what it said, she had definitely seen them somewhere before…a long time ago. She reached out a shaky hand and touched the stone pillar. The words glowed brighter causing her to take her hand back. The words went back to how they were before. "Interesting," she said to herself.

She walked around the pillar. It was quite large and took 20 steps to walk around the perimeter. "Hm," she said quietly. Then she went over to the main pulpit and picked up one of the candlesticks. She came back to the pillar, and with a sudden burst of strength, she slammed the silver candlestick against the stone pillar making a huge crack. The sound of the hit echoed throughout the hall and the pillar. _Of course,_ she thought as she let the candlestick drop to the floor with a loud clang. She went back to where she could see the entire inscription. It shimmered mysteriously against the dull gray background.

She narrowed her eyes and tried to remember where she had seen them before, but nothing came to her. She sighed and looked over the glowing carvings once more. As her eyes reached the last symbol, something inside of her compelled her to reach out and touch the inscriptions again. Taking a deep breath, she reached out her hand again and touched the symbols with her fingers. The words slowly became brighter and brighter. Soon, the eerie light from the inscriptions filled the entire sanctuary. She shielded her eyes with her arm but kept her hand on the words. Then suddenly, she couldn't feel the stone pillar against her fingers anymore. She leaned forward expecting her hand to come into contact with a stone wall. Nothing. She couldn't see where she was reaching since the light was still shining so brightly.

She looked back and saw that her fire had burned itself out. Smoke rose in the air cutting through the blinding light cast by the inscription. By looking at the smoke patterns in the light, she felt something inside of her push her towards the pillar. She looked back toward the light and swallowed hard. "Fine," she finally said and then took a bold step into the light.

It was nighttime and the trio was still in the midst of the never-ending forest. Or at least that's what it seemed like to Naruto. "Are we even close to getting out of here?" he complained to Jiraiya as they set up camp.

The Sannin grunted as he finally lit the wood that they had gathered earlier. "I believe we should be able to make it to the edge of the woods by tomorrow afternoon," he said.

"Tomorrow afternoon?"

"That is if we can get up early enough."

"What time?" Hinata asked.

"I'd say around five in the morning," Jiraiya answered. "That's why we need to get our rest now. We'll take turns for watch. I'll start."

"Fine," Naruto said. "I'll go next."

Jiraiya began cooking some food that they had brought along with them. "If everything goes according to plan tomorrow, there will still be sunlight left for us to search for the entrance to the mountain pass."

The three began their simple dinner in silence.

She stumbled forward and, not expecting a steep step, toppled to the stone floor. "Ow…" She pushed herself up to a sitting position and looked around while rubbing the arm she had fallen on. It was almost pitch black. She looked behind her and instead of seeing the sanctuary, there was a wall. "What?" She reached out her hand to touch it. Solid. She gasped and quickly stood up. "No! No!" she yelled out as she tried to push against the wall. It was no use. She pounded her fist into it and only caused herself to bleed. "AHHH!" she shouted. Her voice echoed loudly bouncing off the walls. Then with a final futile punch to the wall, she turned back around. Her eyes were somewhat adjusting now. She could make out that there was a faint glow just a few steps in front of her, but it was off a ledge. She walked over and looked down. The light source was perhaps a hundred or so feet below, and lining the walls was a turning staircase. She sighed. _I guess there's nowhere else to go now,_ she thought with a glance back at the wall she had somehow come through. She walked over to where the steps began. It was going to be a long trip down.

After what seemed like hours of stepping down, the light became brighter. She had reached the bottom, finally. There was a small but bright light just above a heavy metal door. There was a seal sticking the handle to the rest of the door. Obviously, this place was meant to be closed at all times…but it was too late to go back up now. She was too tired to climb all those stairs and she couldn't just spend the rest of the night on the cold, dirty floor in a cramped space. Her curiosity was killing her. Somehow, everything that she had seen so far this night was eerily familiar. Had she been here before?

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore and she slowly pealed off the seal. The handle swung loose now and the door was ready to be opened. She grabbed the metal ring and the light above her head glowed more brightly, but she didn't think much of it. She pulled. The door wouldn't budge. "Great," she muttered under her breath. She tried again and still the enormous metal slab refused to move. She clenched her teeth. The thought of spending the night down here was really uninviting. She put her other hand on the handle and readied herself. She breathed out. "Ok," she said. She made sure her feet were securely on the ground and then she mustered up all of her strength and pulled.

At first nothing happened but soon the door began to give. The metal scraped slowly across the stone ground as the hinges creaked loudly sending chills down her spine, but the door was finally opening. After moving it open a few inches or so, she stopped to rest. She was panting like a dog, and sweat had already formed on her forehead. _This must not have been used in a long time,_ she thought. After catching her breath, she pulled again. This time it was a bit easier, and she was able to get the rest of the door open.

"Finally!" she gasped as she sucked in the musty air. Darkness now stood where the door once was. Not even the light above the door penetrated it. "Hm…" Nevertheless, she took a step into the darkness. Then suddenly, the light that had been hovering above the door floated down and went right by her head and into the room. It was much brighter now and she was able to see that she was standing in a room full of ancient scrolls. The light floated to the opposite wall from where the door was and then split into two smaller lights. Then each light settled into one of two odd-looking candlesticks that looked like they were made of wires. Then suddenly, they went out.

She gasped as she was once again engulfed in the oppressive darkness…darkness that she had felt before. Then it hit her. That night when she was in the hospital after the second part of the Chuunin exam, she had had a dream that she was standing in a sea of darkness exactly like this. She had seen a light exactly like the light that just went out. She looked around again, squinting her eyes in hopes of looking through the darkness. Nothing.

She mustered up her courage and strength and took a few more steps into the abyss. Still the lights did not return. Then, as if led by some supernatural force, she walked right up to where the lights had gone and stopped in front of the table the two wire candlesticks were on. She reached out her hands and touched them. A bluish energy rushed from her fingers into the wires. The energy began to spread throughout the candlestick through the wires. Now everything was coming back to her. She didn't know how she knew, but she knew exactly what to do.

The lights lit up the entire room now with a soft bluish color. Directly in front of her was a box made of iron with seals inscribed into the metal. A huge lock was fastened on the handle. But none of this seemed to matter to her. She picked up the extremely heavy box almost as if it were nothing and placed it on the table. Then she grasped the lock in her hands. A surge of power flowed from her fingers into the metal and filled the inscriptions on the box. Soon the whole box was glowing the same blue color as the wire candlesticks were, and the lock unlocked itself and fell to the stone table with a clink. She opened the lid. Inside was a sealed scroll.

She took it out and placed it in front of the box. Once again, she felt a surge of power flow through her fingers. That same blue light filled the seal until it was dangerously bright. The light seemed to be pushing its way out of the seal. After a few seconds, the seal gave way to the power of the light and burst into shreds. The pieces floated harmlessly to the floor. Now the scroll could be opened.

As she unrolled it, dust-like particles rose from the paper and escaped into the air zooming off in all directions. But she didn't notice or care. Something inside of her drove her to read what had been written in that scroll. She quickly unrolled more of the ancient script feeling more powerful with every movement she made. The candles glowed more brightly and she could see what was written inside. It was in a different language, but somehow she knew what each symbol meant.

_ A long time ago, there existed the most beautiful angel imaginable. This angel was loved and admired by all those who had the chance to see her and she was a legend for those unworthy of her presence. Humans on earth had only heard stories of the great ninjas who possessed the power almost equivalent to the supernatural and were be able to withhold her beauty and glory. On a fateful day in the winter time, this angel of beauty and grace fell from heaven for an unworthy soul from the Uchiha clan was able to withhold her impassable beauty and fell in love with her. Through this unworthy meeting, she fell from her place in heaven and became the demon of hate cursing the Uchiha clan to a terrible fate of one day ceasing to exist. But she was not satisfied yet. She declared a war on all humankind. She began to destroy the great nations of the human world and all the powers of the ninjas combined could not stop her. Millions died and the great forests of the world burned with the fires of hell. This time was known as the darkest era for mankind._

_After 100 years of chaos and destruction, the great leader of the spirits of nature, the nine-tailed fox spirit, allied himself with the greatest of the Kages from the different countries to have one last stand against the beautiful but terrible Angel of death. With their combined powers, the fox spirit was able to lock the demon away for what seemed like an eternity. The world could once again be at peace…_

She stopped. Although she had merely read a shortened summary, which was customary in their traditions to insert at the beginning of any ancient text, she felt an overwhelming warmth flow inside of her even though the room was still freezing cold. She lifted her hands up so that she could look at them. Strange symbols began to appear on her palms from a central point and they were spreading slowly across the rest of her hands and eventually her arms. "I've never felt more…" She smiled wickedly. "Alive."

She suddenly turned around to face the door. She knew that someone else was coming down the forbidden staircase and she knew who it was.

A cloaked man stood in the doorframe to the ancient scroll room. The faint blue light cast shadows over his face.

She looked at the man still with that evil smile on her face. Her eyes began to shimmer slightly.

"They call you Sora," the man said in a low voice as he began to walk forward into the light.

"They did," she answered, her eyes never leaving him.

He stopped just inches in front of her. He put his hand up to her chin and lifted her head towards his. "But that is not who you really are."

She leaned forward and put her head past his. "Mitsukai," she whispered into his ear. The name held power as the whisper spread through the air. The very room seemed to quiver. She lifted her hands up to unclasp the man's robe. It fell to the floor.

"Mitsukai," he whispered back and surrounded her body with his arms. He pulled her head back a little so that they could see face to face.

"Itachi," she said with a suggestive smile. "You found me."

Uchiha Itachi said nothing but swiftly pulled her into a furious kiss.

The ceremony had begun.

As their passion grew within them, the candles burned all the more brightly. The ancient text lying on the table began to glow as it unrolled itself. Soon it fell to the floor revealing more of the forbidden curses it held. As each of the words opened up to the air, light came shooting out of it and more glowing particles flew up from the scroll.

Itachi threw Mitsukai down onto the table that held the scroll on top of it and quickly joined her. He began to strip her of her clothing and threw them to the side. There was no stopping him now. He felt her unclasp his armor that he had on and they slipped off of his body and fell to the floor with a dull clang. Then he quickly rid himself of his own clothing and immediately went back to making love to Mitsukai. The glowing particles gathered around them in the air engulfing them in a shining dome of light. Both were gasping out in pleasure as Itachi began to move within Mitsukai.

Soon, the entire scroll had unrolled itself and the long line of light filled the entire room. The other ancient scrolls that had been stored there began to decay to dust and they swirled up in the air. The light was blinding, but Mitsukai and Itachi couldn't see it, as they were too much involved in each other to notice anything else. Soon, Mitsukai's gasps and screams of pleasure echoed throughout the room.

The markings on Mitsukai's hands spread more quickly across her arms and eventually down her body. Her hair began to change from its brilliant red to a shimmering silver and her eyes became clear of color. Power flowed from Itachi to Mitsukai and she felt the seal from the Third Hokage break within her. Her blue Chakra flowed like a poison throughout her entire body, coursing through her Chakra and blood veins. The markings that had now covered her entire body began to sink through her skin into her Chakra structure making her blue energy white. The Angel had returned.


End file.
